The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has proudly announced Professor Ruta Mehta as a recipient of the 2024 Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research.
A distinguished faculty member in the Department of Computer Science, Mehta will be formally recognized for her exceptional mentorship at the Campus Awards ceremony on April 15.
This prestigious award celebrates Mehta’s unwavering dedication to nurturing undergraduate students through complex and impactful research in theoretical computer science.
Since joining UIUC in 2016, she has mentored more than 20 undergraduate students, guiding them through intellectually rigorous projects that have not only resulted in peer-reviewed publications but have also translated into real-world applications, including app development led by the students.
Professor Mehta’s research lies at the dynamic intersection of theoretical computer science, economics, and game theory. Her core focus areas, equilibrium computation, fair division, and algorithmic market design, tackle foundational questions with broad societal relevance.
She further extends her interdisciplinary work into genetic evolution and machine learning, offering rich collaborative opportunities that enhance student learning and research innovation.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has proudly announced Professor Ruta Mehta as a recipient of the 2024 Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research.
Beyond her impressive research portfolio, Mehta has significantly contributed to UIUC’s academic environment through curriculum development and service.
She has designed and taught advanced courses, including CS 580: Topics in Algorithmic Game Theory, equipping students with deep insights into computational economics and strategic decision-making frameworks.
She also serves as an associate editor for the esteemed journal Mathematics of Operations Research, underscoring her active engagement in the scholarly community.
Her leadership reaches beyond the classroom and laboratory. As the founder of the EC (AGT) Mentoring Workshop, Professor Mehta has fostered an inclusive academic community dedicated to supporting emerging researchers in computational economics and algorithmic game theory.
A trailblazer in her field, Mehta received the ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2012. She earned her Ph.D. from IIT Bombay, followed by postdoctoral research at Georgia Tech and the Simons Institute at UC Berkeley.
These formative experiences laid the foundation for her unique interdisciplinary approach, which continues to shape the next generation of scholars at UIUC.
Guiding undergraduates through the abstract and often challenging domain of theoretical computer science is no small feat. Yet, Professor Mehta has not only done so with excellence but has empowered students to become lead authors and innovators in their own right, a testament to her passion for mentorship and academic excellence.
