The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) proudly celebrates Assistant Professor Debankur Mukherjee, who has been named the 2025 recipient of the ACM SIGMETRICS Rising Star Research Award.  

Presented annually, this prestigious award recognizes exceptional early-career researchers whose work is shaping the future of computer systems performance evaluation. Mukherjee will be honored at the upcoming ACM SIGMETRICS / IFIP Performance Conference, taking place June 9–13, 2025, at Stony Brook University in New York.  

He joins a distinguished cohort of previous awardees including Devavrat Shah (MIT), Adam Wierman (Caltech), and Kuang Xu (Stanford), whose pioneering contributions have helped shape modern approaches in systems performance and algorithmic design. 

Efficient. Scalable. Provable. 
Three words that encapsulate the core of Mukherjee’s research. Drawing on techniques from probability theory, optimization, and machine learning, his work focuses on building efficient algorithms for large-scale, uncertain systems, including data centers, cloud networks to complex service infrastructures.  

His contributions are recognized not only for their deep theoretical insight, but also for their practical relevance in operational settings where scalability and performance guarantees are essential. 

“This award is an incredible honor,” said Mukherjee. “It signals that the kinds of questions I’ve been drawn to are resonating with the broader research community. It also reinforces the importance of building rigorous, theory-backed approaches to tackle modern computing challenges.” 

Pushing Boundaries, Bridging Foundations 
Looking ahead, Mukherjee sees the Rising Star Award as a launching point for deeper and bolder scientific exploration.  
 
“[This recognition] gives me renewed motivation to pursue problems rooted in technical depth, with the goal of achieving long-term significance, and greater confidence to take bolder risks in research directions that may not yet have a clear roadmap.” 
 

From Mathematical Curiosity to Systemic Impact 
Mukherjee’s research journey began with a fascination for the interplay between mathematical structure and real-world complexity.  

In his research group at Georgia Tech, he confronted a long-standing open problem concerning mean-field approximations in systems with graph-constrained agent interactions a challenge that had resisted resolution for decades. By developing new tools including probabilistic coupling techniques and graph-expansion-based structural conditions, he was able to rigorously characterize system performance and provide scalable design principles.  

This work not only led to significant improvements in data center operations but also earned the SIGMETRICS Best Paper Award. 

His current projects continue to break new ground, particularly at the intersection of online optimization and machine learning, where he designs algorithms that adapt to untrusted predictions while remaining robust in unpredictable environments. 

Acknowledging Mentorship and Collaboration 
Mukherjee credits much of his growth to the mentorship and collaboration he’s experienced throughout his career. He expressed deep gratitude to his Ph.D. advisors, Sem Borst and Johan van Leeuwaarden, for instilling in him a first-principles approach to research. He also highlights the contributions of his students—Daan Rutten, Zhisheng Zhao, and Neelkamal Bhuyan—whose creativity has fueled many successful projects. Lastly, he acknowledges his colleagues at ISyE for fostering an environment where collaboration, rigor, and innovation are actively nurtured. 

A Message for the Next Generation of Systems Engineers 
To Ph.D. students and junior researchers: “Focus on questions that genuinely interest you, even if they don’t align perfectly with what is currently most popular. Some of the most meaningful problems take time and patience. Build depth early as it gives one the flexibility to explore new areas later. Most importantly, find a community that values curiosity and honesty.”