Recently, Lu Haihao, a Zhiyuan graduate of the Mathematics division (class of 2014), has won the 2026 Sloan Research Fellowship.

Lu, currently an Assistant Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, is among the 126 early-career scientists candidates worldwide recognized for exceptional research achievements and potential.

Groundbreaking Contributions to Optimization

Lu's research focuses on the intersection of optimization, computation, and data science. He has made significant breakthroughs in large-scale optimization algorithms, with publications in top journals including Mathematical Programming and SIAM Journal on Optimization.

His PDLP algorithm, developed with collaborators, dramatically improves efficiency and scalability for large-scale linear programming and has been widely adopted in industry. The work exemplifies Lu's distinctive approach—bridging theoretical advances with real-world applications—earning him multiple international honors including the COIN-OR Cup, the Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize, and the INFORMS Optimization Society Young Researchers Award.

Academic Journey

At Zhiyuan College, Lu received early research training under Professor Cai Shenggong and earned the National Scholarship, Kaiyuan Scholarship, and Zhiyuan Outstanding Student Scholarship. After earning his Ph.D. in Mathematics and Operations Research from MIT in 2019, he held positions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Google Research before joining MIT faculty.

A Growing Legacy

Lu becomes the second Zhiyuan College alumnus to receive a Sloan Fellowship, following Yang Diyi (ACM Class), who received the award in 2024. The fellowship, established in 1955, honors outstanding early-career scientists across seven fields, with 59 previous fellows later receiving Nobel Prizes.

Lu's achievement exemplifies Zhiyuan College's commitment to nurturing future scientific leaders through rigorous academic training and research mentorship.