Aldo Pacchiano Joins BU as Assistant Professor in CDS
Aldo Pacchiano will join the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) at Boston University as an assistant professor starting in the Fall of 2024, following a one-year appointment as a adjunct assistant professor in CDS as he completes a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
“We are excited with the prospect of Aldo joining us! He brings to CDS extensive research experience in critical topics such as reinforcement learning, online learning, bandits, and algorithmic fairness. Our students will benefit from his impressive depth and breadth of knowledge and his ability to contextualize complex concepts,” said Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for CDS.
Pacchiano’s background includes a position as a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research NYC, a lab that focuses on answering big data questions and shedding light on human behavior online. Pacchiano’s publications reflect the potential for turning theoretical understanding into practical applications that can assist the scientific and larger communities.
He values the work already being done at CDS and anticipates areas where he can add contributions. “I am really looking forward to being part of a vibrant and growing research community,” he said. “I am particularly excited about having the chance to be part of the faculty that will shape the future of CDS and the many collaboration opportunities that I am certain will arise in my journey as a faculty here.”
Pacchiano, who will hold an adjunct visiting appointment in CDS while working at the Broad Institute during the 2023/24 academic year, will start as a tenure-track assistant professor at CDS starting next year. He is already outlining ambitious goals for when he joins the university. “My main objective is to help BU and CDS be recognized as a leader in theoretical and applied reinforcement learning research,” he said.
In his spare time, Pacchiano enjoys flexing his creative muscle by writing short stories in both English and Spanish.