About

Alexander Volfovsky

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistical Science and the Department of Computer Science at Duke University. I am the Co-Director of the Polarization Lab and the Almost Matching Exactly Lab at Duke, and I currently serve as Director of Graduate Studies in Statistical Science. Questions about graduate studies or DGS matters should be directed to stat-dgs@duke.edu.

I joined Duke after finishing an NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Statistics at Harvard University. Before that, I completed my PhD in Statistics at the University of Washington in Seattle and a joint Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Chicago.

My research develops theory and methodology for causal inference in complex systems. Much of my work focuses on settings such as text, social networks, and AI systems, where causes and effects are intertwined with high-dimensional structure, strategic behavior, and computational constraints. Across these domains, I study how principled experimental design and causal reasoning can improve both scientific understanding and the development of AI systems that are reliable, trustworthy, and effective.