About Me
I am currently a second-year PhD student at Dartmouth College. I am honored to be advised by Prof. Yaoqing Yang. Prior to this, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from South China University of Technology in 2024. My primary research interests lie in learning theory 📊 and optimization 📈.
✨ Research Interests
I am interested in both classical learning theory problems (Rademacher Complexity, Covering Number, PAC-Bayesian, etc.) and recently emerging theory problems (primarily focusing on the statistical and optimization properties of large-scale deep neural networks). If you have any interesting related problems, feel free to discuss with me anytime! I am very open to cooperation.
My current research primarily focuses on:
- Analyze the optimization properties (Non-Smoothness, Hessian, River-Valley, etc.) of large-scale neural networks, the behavior of optimization algorithms under specific loss landscapes, and develop scalable optimization algorithms based on these optimization properties and algorithms’ behavior.
- Investigate non-vacuous and theoretically interpretable metrics for data/model statistical complexity in neural networks training, and determine how the interplay between data complexity and model complexity can lead to improved generalization and robustness performance.
📖 Education
| Period | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2024.9 – Present | Ph.D in Computer Science | Dartmouth College |
| 2020.9 – 2024.6 | B.S. in Mathematics & Applied Mathematics | South China University of Technology |
📢 News
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| 2026.03 | 🎉 Our paper about “Hessian Spectral Bifurcation” has been accepted to ISIT 2026. |
| 2026.03 | 📄 New preprint about Matrix-Based Optimization: RMNP: Row-Momentum Normalized Preconditioning for Scalable Matrix-Based Optimization |
| 2026.02 | 🏆 My first paper as first author, “Suspicious Alignment of SGD”, received Best Student Paper Award at the 37th International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory (ALT) 2026! |
| 2026.02 | 🎙️ Giving a talk at Fields Institute on Feb 26th about our ALT paper (Recording) |
| 2026.02 | 📄 New short paper preprint about Hessian: Depth, Not Data: An Analysis of Hessian Spectral Bifurcation) |
| 2026.02 | 📝 Serving as a reviewer for ICML 2026 |
| 2025.12 | 🎉 “Suspicious Alignment of SGD” has been accepted to ALT 2026 . |
| 2025.12 | 💰 Honored to receive a $2,000 grant from Lambda AI |
| 2025.10 | 📝 Serving as a reviewer for ICLR 2026 |
| 2025.10 | 👋 First post on this website - welcome! |
📚 Publications
Selected Research
Shenyang Deng, Boyao Liao, Zhuoli Ouyang, Tianyu Pang, Minhak Song, Yaoqing Yang
The 37th International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory (ALT), 2026
🏆 Best Student Paper Award
[Paper]
📎 Check out more of my work on Google Scholar
🍽️ Miscellaneous
I am a food enthusiast who loves both eating and cooking. I enjoy preparing a hearty dinner after a busy work schedule and then rewarding myself with a game of StarCraft II 🎮. Here are some photos of the dishes I have made: See Gallery →