Alekh Agarwal

Alekh is a Staff Research Scientist at Google, specializing in the theoretical and algorithmic foundations of machine learning. A Ph. D. graduate from UC Berkeley, his research focuses on interactive ML, including reinforcement learning and contextual bandits. He previously spent nine years at Microsoft Research, where he led the Reinforcement Learning group.

Outside of his primary research, Alekh maintains a strong connection with his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, which recently honored him with an award. He is an avid runner and hiker and enjoys reading. He actively participates in the research community, presenting at major conferences and serving in senior organizational roles.

He is the co-author of a widely used monograph on the theory of reinforcement learning, now considered a standard reference on the topic in many courses.