Ryan O'Donnell
About
Ryan O'Donnell is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University, widely regarded for his profound contributions to Theoretical Computer Science, particularly in the analysis of Boolean functions. His research explores a vast landscape of complexity theory, including property testing, algorithmic game theory, and the hardness of approximation, famously contributing to the proof of the Unique Games Conjecture for certain cases. Dr. O'Donnell is the author of the definitive textbook Analysis of Boolean Functions, which bridges the gap between Fourier analysis and computational complexity. Beyond his work in classical computing, he has made significant strides in Quantum Information Theory, investigating the limits of quantum learning and the complexity of quantum states. A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and the Sloan Research Fellowship, he is also well-known for his engaging pedagogical style, making high-level mathematical concepts accessible through his popular "Theory of Computing" lectures and blog.
Research Performance Summary
First Recorded Paper
Hardness amplification within NP
Year: 2002
Citations: 138
Venue: Proceedings of the thiry-fourth annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing
Latest Recorded Paper
A Classical Quadratic Speedup for Plantedxor
Year: 2026
Citations: 2
Venue: Proceedings of the 2026 Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms
Last 10 Years Publication Activity
This timeline shows the professor's yearly publication activity.