Hemanshu Das, a doctoral student in operations, has been awarded a 2025 Duolingo Research Grant for his project “Optimizing Adaptive Learning Platforms: Designing Smarter Practice Paths for Students.”
The annual Duolingo initiative supports doctoral research in language learning, mathematics, and music. Das was one of seven recipients selected globally, and one of two in the mathematics category.
“Optimizing Adaptive Learning Platforms” focuses on making ed-tech platforms more effective by personalizing learning trajectories. Das’s research uses mathematical modeling, optimization, and data science methods to determine when students should continue reviewing material or advance to new topics.
Das, a fifth-year PhD student, came to Yale SOM after a predoctoral fellowship at the Indian School of Business. At SOM, Das uses data-driven models and field experiments to improve education policy by identifying interventions that are scalable, measurable, and incentive-aligned. In addition to personalized learning, his current work addresses algorithmic advising and teacher workforce design. He is advised by Professor Edieal Pinker and Professor Faidra Monachou.