Han Shao
Hi! I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, I was a CMSA postdoc at Harvard, working with Cynthia Dwork and Ariel Procaccia. I did my PhD at TTIC, advised by Avrim Blum.
My research interests span machine learning theory, economics and computation, and algorithmic game theory. I work on both the theoretical foundations of machine learning and problems related to human–AI interaction and the economic phenomena that arise from it.
Prospective students: I am recruiting PhD students for Fall 2026. You are welcome to apply to the UMD CS PhD program and mention me as a faculty of interest.
I also welcome motivated undergraduate and master's students interested in research. If you are at UMD and hope to work with me, I strongly recommend taking my courses. See information for prospective students for details.
Email: hanshao@umd.edu
Recent news
- Jun 29, 2026: I'm co-organizing the workshop Learning in an Agentic World: Foundations and Challenges at COLT 2026 (with Hedyeh Beyhaghi, Avrim Blum, and Dravyansh Sharma). We invite abstract submissions!
- Apr 16, 2026: I gave a talk on A Theoretical Framework for Statistical Evaluability of Generative Models at Agency in Collaborative Learning Workshop. Videos are available here.
- Mar 17-Apr 18, 2026: I'm visiting Simons Institute for Federated and Collaborative Learning program as a long-term participant. Come say hi if you are around!
- Jan 29, 2026: Praneeth and I are giving a tutorial on Incentives for collaborative learning and data sharing at Simons Institute as part of Federated and Collaborative Learning program. Videos are available here.
- Dec 3-6, 2025: I'll be attending NeurIPS in SD!
- Nov 12, 2025: I'll be giving a talk at JHU CS theory seminar.
- Oct 17, 2025: I'll be giving a talk at the UMD CS department seminar on Probably Approximately Precision and Recall Learning.
- Summer 2025: I'm co-organizing the workshops on Reliable and Responsible Foundation Models (ICML) and Incentives for Collaborative Learning and Data Sharing (TTIC, August 13–15). Please come by!
- July 2025: I've moved to College Park! Come say hi if you're in the DC area.
Teaching
- CMSC848P (Fall 26) Machine Learning Theory
- CMSC498W (Spring 26) Economics and Computation
- CMSC848P (Fall 25) Machine Learning Theory
Students
- Shashaank Aiyer (2025-)
Contact
Email: hanshao@umd.edu
Office: IRB 5132