Aaron Roth, the Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer & Cognitive Science in the department of computer and information science in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, has received the 2025-2026 George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research for “fundamental contributions to formalizing, quantifying, and enforcing data privacy and algorithmic fairness.”

The Heilmeier Award honors a Penn Engineering faculty member whose work is scientifically meritorious and has high technological impact and visibility. It is named for the late George H. Heilmeier, a Penn Engineering alumnus and member of the school’s Board of Advisors, whose technological contributions include the development of liquid crystal displays and whose honors include the National Medal of Science and the Kyoto Prize.

Dr. Roth, who also holds a secondary appointment in the department of statistics and data science in the Wharton School, is known for his work on differential privacy, algorithmic fairness, game theory, and learning theory. His research strives to provide mathematical guarantees that algorithms protect individual privacy while minimizing bias, a concept that shapes ethical, socially aware data science.

Dr. Roth will deliver the 2025-2026 Heilmeier Lecture at Penn Engineering during the spring 2026 semester.