Juan Carlos Perdomo

Assistant Professor, NYU CS & Data Science

My research develops foundations of machine learning for the social world. I study the feedback loops that arise between people and algorithms, and develop methods with provable guarantees in these dynamic, social contexts.

I earned my PhD in EECS from UC Berkeley, and my BA in CS and Math from Harvard. I was also a postdoc at Harvard and MIT. I'm from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Papers CV Teaching Contact

Research Overview

I organize my work around a mix of both theoretical and empirically driven directions. These include,

Performative Prediction: When we use predictions to inform decisions about people, these predictions don't just change the future: they actively shape it. Traffic predictions shape traffic patterns and economic forecasts influence market prices. Performative prediction is a learning theoretic framework we developed to understand learning in these settings.

Prediction in Resource Allocation: Faced with pressure to modernize, large bureaucracies -- such as education and labor departments -- are increasingly using statistical tools to target their interventions efficiently. How do we prove that our prediction algorithms lead to efficient allocations? When is a prediction system "good enough" in these settings? My work in this area changed how the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction assigned interventions to over 200k students each year.

More generally, I am also interested in learning theory, optimization, and sequential decision making.

Teaching

Modern Paradigms in Learning and Decision-Making. NYU, Fall 2026.

People

Interns Hosted: Unai Fischer-Abaigar

PhD Students: Esther Plotnick

Sailing

Outside of work, I enjoy sailing and most other water sports. Growing up, I was part of the national team in Puerto Rico and won youth world championships in the laser (now ILCA) class at the under 17, 19, and 21 levels.

I represented Puerto Rico at the 2014 Central American Games and the 2015 Pan American Games. I was also an intern on the design team for Emirates Team New Zealand's winning campaign for the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda working on this boat.

Contact

j.perdomo.silva[at]nyu.edu