Salil Vadhan

I am a member of Harvard's Theory of Computation research group. I also lead Harvard's Privacy Tools Project and co-lead the OpenDP open-source differential privacy software project.  My research areas include computational complexity, data privacy, and cryptography.

In Spring 2026 I taught CS 2252: Spectral Graph Theory in Computer Science and CS 2253: Seminar on Pseudorandomness and High-Dimensional Expanders. In 2021, I developed a new introductory undergraduate course in theoretical computer science, CS 1200: Algorithms and Their Limitations, which I last taught in Fall 2025 and will teach again in Spring 2027.

I will be spending most of Fall 2026 at the Simons Institute for Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley for the programs on "Pseudorandomness and High-Dimensional Expanders" and "Spectral Theory Beyond Graphs".  While I am away, I will still hold regular Zoom office hours, listed in the calendar below. If you need to meet at a time outside of office hours, please contact me at salil_vadhan@harvard.edu.

My 2012 monograph on Pseudorandomness is on my former website.

See FAQ with answers to common inquiries (including reference letters, graduate admissions, advising, internal and external service, appointments, and refereeing) and information on contacting me.