Qinxin Yan

Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley
Ph.D., Applied and Computational Mathematics, Princeton University

I am a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley, in the group of Prof. Xin Guo. I obtained my Ph.D. in the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM) at Princeton University, where I was fortunate to be advised by Prof. H. Mete Soner.

My research develops asymptotic mathematical frameworks for large stochastic and strategic systems, combining control and game theory to analyze and design decision mechanisms in multi-agent settings. I blend stochastic simulation, mean-field theory, and graph-theoretic modeling with machine-learning–based algorithms to connect rigorous theory with applications in real-world problems, especially in finance and machine learning.

During 2023–2024, I was a visiting scholar with the Insurance Mathematics and Stochastic Finance Group in the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zürich. There, I worked with Prof. Josef Teichmann on machine learning algorithms for McKean–Vlasov control, and with Prof. Beatrice Acciaio on the mean-field formulation of large neural networks.

Current projects

  • Machine-learning-based methods for McKean–Vlasov control problems and multi-agent games.
  • Connections between McKean–Vlasov control, Wasserstein gradient flows, and optimal transport.
  • Applications of mean-field theory and Wasserstein gradient flows in large-scale neural networks.
  • Viscosity solutions of Hamilton–Jacobi equations arising in McKean–Vlasov control.
  • Large stochastic particle systems with singular interactions on sparse graphs, with applications to systemic risk in financial networks.

Selected publications

All papers & preprints →
  1. Learning Algorithm for Mean Field Optimal Control

    H. Mete Soner, Josef Teichmann, and Qinxin Yan

    SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, 2026. To appear.

  2. Iterative Schemes for Markov Perfect Equilibria

    Felix Höfer, Mathieu Laurière, H. Mete Soner, and Qinxin Yan

    Mathematical Finance, 2026. To appear.

  3. Viscosity Solutions of the Eikonal Equation on the Wasserstein Space

    H. Mete Soner and Qinxin Yan

    Applied Mathematics and Optimization, 2024.

  4. Viscosity Solutions for McKean–Vlasov Control on a Torus

    H. Mete Soner and Qinxin Yan

    SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, 60(6):3797–3824, 2022.

Appointments & education

Full CV →
  • Present
    Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley
    Group of Prof. Xin Guo
  • 2021 – 2026
    Ph.D., Applied and Computational Mathematics
    Princeton University · Advisor: Prof. H. Mete Soner
  • 2023 – 2024
    Visiting Scholar, ETH Zürich
    Insurance Mathematics and Stochastic Finance, Department of Mathematics
  • 2017 – 2021
    B.S., Computational Mathematics
    University of Science and Technology of China