Ivan Bliznets

Ivan A. Bliznets is an algorithms researcher working on parameterized and exact exponential algorithms, approximation algorithms for NP-hard problems, and discrete mathematics. He competed for Belarus at the International Mathematical Olympiad 2005, placing 114th (78.0%) with 23 points. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from Belarusian State University (2010), an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the St. Petersburg Academic University (2012), and a Ph.D. (C.Sc.) in Mathematics and Physics from the St. Petersburg Department of the Steklov Mathematical Institute (2016). He has held research and teaching roles at St. Petersburg State University, HSE University, JetBrains Research, and Utrecht University, and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen.

Notes5

• Identity anchor: Ivan Bliznets competed for Belarus at IMO 2005 (IMO participant id 8419); the matching LinkedIn profile, Belarusian State University B.Sc. (2005-2010), and a continuous algorithms-research career corroborate that the Olympiad competitor and the academic are the same person.Jul 2005
• Index-only claim: the LinkedIn enrichment index lists a Quantitative Researcher role at WorldQuant LLC, St. Petersburg, dated 2016-2017; this is not yet confirmed by an independent primary source.
• Quant employment verification: UNRESOLVED. The only evidence linking Ivan Bliznets to a quantitative-finance role is the LinkedIn enrichment index, which lists 'Quantitative Researcher, WorldQuant LLC, St. Petersburg, 2016-2017' and a 2014 Microsoft Research internship; no independent primary source (WorldQuant page, press, or personal page) was found confirming these roles. WorldQuant LLC is classified as an actual quantitative investment/asset-management firm (not merely a name containing 'quant'), so IF the role is genuine it would qualify as quant employment, but the role itself remains index-only and unverified, so actual employment cannot be confirmed.
• Current role: Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen; the RUG research portal lists [contact omitted], phone +31 50 363 3939, and research themes choosability and parameterized algorithms.
• Ph.D. (C.Sc.) in Mathematics and Physics awarded 04.2016 by the St. Petersburg Department of Steklov Mathematical Institute; thesis 'Algorithms and Lower Bounds on Computational Complexity of Graph Modification Problems', advisor A.S. Kulikov.Apr 2016
• Education timeline (corroborated by the SPbU faculty page and the RUG research portal): B.Sc. Mathematics, Belarusian State University, 2010; M.Sc. Applied Mathematics, Academic University (St. Petersburg), 2012; Ph.D. (C.Sc.) in Mathematics and Physics ('Mathematical Logic, Algebra and Number Theory'), Steklov Mathematical Institute, April 2016, thesis on graph modification problems advised by A.S. Kulikov.Apr 2016
• Awards: at IMO 2005 (Belarus) Ivan Bliznets ranked 114th (78.0%) with 23 points; the official table marks award 'S' (awarded by decision of the Jury due to special circumstances), not a gold/silver/bronze medal.Jul 2005
• Index-only claim: the LinkedIn enrichment index lists a 2014 Research Intern role at Microsoft Research.
• Publication record is indexed on DBLP (pid 118/7155); representative work includes 'Subexponential parameterized algorithm for Interval Completion' (SODA 2016), 'Lower bounds for the parameterized complexity of Minimum Fill-In' (SODA 2016), 'Hardness of Approximation for H-Free Edge Modification Problems' (APPROX-RANDOM 2016), and 'Exact and parameterized algorithms for choosability' with J. Nederlof (Acta Informatica, 2025).