Publications and Preprints

Stochastic Systems

• Noise Schedule Design for Diffusion Models: An Optimal Control Perspective
  Seo Taek Kong, Weina Wang, R. Srikant
  Preprint, 2026. [arXiv]
  

• Lyapunov-Based Sample Complexity Analysis for Weakly-Coupled MDPs
  Tianhao Wu, Matthew Zurek, Weina Wang, Qiaomin Xie
  COLT, 2026. [arXiv]
  

• [A Special Paper] Optimality of a Threshold Policy for a Queueing System with One Fast Server and Two Identical Slow Servers
  Weina Wang, Taha Ameen, Yudong Chen, Yige Hong, Josh Nichols, and Matthew Zurek, June, 2026. [arXiv]
  

  This paper solves a case in an open problem originally proposed by Lin and Kumar(1984). I first read about this open problem in the paper by Koole (2022) in the special issue "100 Views on Queues" that celebrates Volume 100 of Queueing Systems.

  This is special paper since the core technical ideas in this paper are generated by GPT-5.5 Pro. We put ourselves down as authors, but this is not authorship in a traditional sense. Our role is to verify the proofs and rewrite the paper for better rigor, clarity, and exposition. In addition, three key lemmas have also been verified in Lean 4 [GitHub]. We have included a short report at the end of the appendix describing the authors' interactions with GPT-5.5 Pro.

  Here is another paper where GPT is heavily involved.
  Steady-State Approximation Error of Heterogeneous Mean-Field Models
  Lei Ying, 2026. [arXiv]
  This paper is from Prof. Lei Ying at University of Michigan. In this paper, most proofs were generated, corrected, and refined through iterative interactions between ChatGPT and the author.

• Projection-based Lyapunov method for fully heterogeneous weakly-coupled MDPs
  Xiangcheng Zhang*, Yige Hong*, Weina Wang
  NeurIPS, 2025. [arXiv]
  Spotlight

• Achieving \(\tilde{O}(1/N)\) Optimality Gap in Restless Bandits through Gaussian Approximation
  Chen Yan, Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  NeurIPS, 2025. [arXiv]
  Spotlight

• Unichain and Aperiodicity are Sufficient for Asymptotic Optimality of Average-Reward Restless Bandits
  Yige Hong, Qiaomin Xie, Yudong Chen, Weina Wang
  Mathematics of Operations Research, 2025. [DOI] [arXiv]

• Job assignment in machine learning inference systems with accuracy constraints
  Tuhinangshu Choudhury, Gauri Joshi, Weina Wang
  Performance Evaluation, 2025.
  [DOI]

• Efficient Reinforcement Learning for Routing Jobs in Heterogeneous Queueing Systems
  Neharika Jali, Guannan Qu, Weina Wang, Gauri Joshi
  AISTATS, 2024. [arXiv]

• Asymptotically optimal scheduling of multiple parallelizable job classes
  Ben Berg, Ben Moseley, Weina Wang, Mor Harchol-Balter
  Preprint, 2024. [arXiv]

• Achieving exponential asymptotic optimality in average-reward restless bandits without global attractor assumption
  Yige Hong, Qiaomin Xie, Yudong Chen, Weina Wang
  Preprint, 2024. [arXiv]

• Restless Bandits with Average Reward: Breaking the Uniform Global Attractor Assumption
  Yige Hong, Qiaomin Xie, Yudong Chen, Weina Wang
  NeurIPS, 2023. [arXiv]
  Spotlight

• Sample Efficient Reinforcement Learning in Mixed Systems Through Augmented Samples and Its Applications to Queueing Networks
  Honghao Wei, Xin Liu, Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  NeurIPS, 2023. [arXiv]
  Spotlight

• Near-Optimal Stochastic Bin-Packing in Large Service Systems with Time-Varying Item Sizes
  Yige Hong, Qiaomin Xie, Weina Wang
  ACM SIGMETRICS, 2024. [arXiv] [slides] [Simons talk video]

• An Upper Bound on the M/M/k Queue With Deterministic Setup Times
  Jalani K. Williams, Mor Harchol-Balter, Weina Wang
  Preprint, 2025. [arXiv]

• The M/M/k with deterministic setup times
  Jalani K. Williams, Mor Harchol-Balter, Weina Wang
  ACM SIGMETRICS, 2023. [DOI] [pdf]

• Sharp waiting-time bounds for multiserver jobs
  Yige Hong, Weina Wang
  ACM MobiHoc, 2022. [DOI] [arXiv] [slides] [SNAPP seminar video]

• Tackling heterogeneous traffic in multi-access systems via erasure coded servers
  Tuhinangshu Choudhury, Weina Wang, Gauri Joshi
  ACM MobiHoc, 2022. [DOI] [arXiv]
  Best Paper Award

• On low-complexity quickest intervention of mutated diffusion processes through local approximation
  Qining Zhang, Honghao Wei, Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  ACM MobiHoc, 2022. [DOI] [arXiv]

• Beyond response time: scheduling to speed up convergence in machine learning
  Weina Wang
  ‘100 views on queues’, Volume 100 of Queueing Systems, 2022. [DOI]

• Probing to minimize
  Weina Wang, Anupam Gupta, Jalani K. Williams (random author order)
  ITCS, 2022. [DOI] [pdf]

• The case for phase-aware scheduling of parallelizable jobs
  Benjamin Berg, Justin Whitehouse, Benjamin Moseley, Weina Wang, Mor Harchol-Balter
  IFIP Performance, 2021. [DOI] [pdf]

• Job dispatching policies for queueing systems with unknown service rates
  Tuhinangshu Choudhury, Gauri Joshi, Weina Wang, Sanjay Shakkottai
  ACM MobiHoc, Jul. 2021. [DOI] [arXiv] [slides]

• Zero queueing for multi-server jobs
  Weina Wang, Qiaomin Xie, Mor Harchol-Balter
  ACM SIGMETRICS, Jun. 2021. [DOI] [arXiv]

• Achieving zero asymptotic queueing delay for parallel jobs
  Wentao Weng, Weina Wang
  ACM SIGMETRICS, Jun. 2021. [DOI] [arXiv] [talk video by Wentao]

• Optimal resource allocation for elastic and inelastic jobs
  Benjamin Berg, Mor Harchol-Balter, Benjamin Moseley, Weina Wang, Justin Whitehouse
  ACM SPAA, Jul. 2020. [DOI] [pdf]

• QuickStop: A Markov optimal stopping approach for quickest misinformation detection
  Honghao Wei, Xiaohan Kang, Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  ACM SIGMETRICS, Phoenix, AZ, Jun. 2019. [DOI] [pdf]

• Delay asymptotics and bounds for multi-task parallel jobs
  Weina Wang, Mor Harchol-Balter, Haotian Jiang, Alan Scheller-Wolf, R. Srikant
  Queueing Systems Jan. 2019. [DOI] [QUESTA pdf]
  International Symposium on Computer Performance, Modeling, Measurements and Evaluation (IFIP Performance), Toulouse, France, Dec. 2018. [DOI]

• Heavy-traffic insensitive bounds for weighted proportionally fair bandwidth sharing policies
  Weina Wang, Siva Theja Maguluri, R. Srikant, Lei Ying
  Mathematics of Operations Research, 2022. [DOI][arXiv]
  Heavy-traffic delay insensitivity in connection-level models of data transfer with proportionally fair bandwidth sharing
  Weina Wang, Siva Theja Maguluri, R. Srikant, Lei Ying
  International Symposium on Computer Performance, Modeling, Measurements and Evaluation (IFIP Performance), New York City, NY, Dec. 2017. [DOI]

• Resource allocation for data-parallel computing in networks with data locality
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2016. [DOI] [Allerton pdf]

• Decentralized scheduling with data locality for data-parallel computation on Peer-to-Peer networks
  Weina Wang, Matthew Barnard, Lei Ying
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2015. [DOI] [Allerton pdf]

• Data locality in MapReduce: A network perspective
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2014. [DOI]
  Performance Evaluation, Feb. 2016. [DOI] [PEVA pdf]
  [technical report]

• MapTask scheduling in MapReduce with data locality: throughput and heavy-traffic optimality
  Weina Wang, Kai Zhu, Lei Ying, Jian Tan, Li Zhang
  IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Feb. 2016. [DOI] [ToN pdf]
  Map task scheduling in MapReduce with data locality: throughput and heavy-traffic optimality
  Weina Wang, Kai Zhu, Lei Ying, Jian Tan, Li Zhang
  IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), Turin, Italy, Apr. 2013. [DOI] [INFOCOM pdf]
  A throughput optimal algorithm for map task scheduling in MapReduce with data locality
  Weina Wang, Kai Zhu, Lei Ying, Jian Tan, Li Zhang
  ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review, Mar. 2013. [DOI]
  [poster]

• On the performance of largest-deficit-first for scheduling real-time traffic in wireless networks
  Xiaohan Kang, Weina Wang, Juan José Jaramillo, Lei Ying
  IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Feb. 2016. [DOI] [ToN pdf] [supplementary]
  ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc), Bangalore, India, Jul. 2013. [DOI] [MobiHoc pdf]

Random Graphs

• Efficient Algorithms for Attributed Graph Alignment with Vanishing Edge Correlation
  Ziao Wang, Weina Wang, Lele Wang
  IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2025. [DOI]
  COLT, 2024. [arXiv]

• On the Feasible Region of Efficient Algorithms for Attributed Graph Alignment
  Ziao Wang, Ning Zhang, Weina Wang, Lele Wang
  IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2024. [DOI]
  IEEE ISIT, Jul. 2022. [arXiv]

• Attributed graph alignment
  Ning Zhang, Weina Wang, Lele Wang
  IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2024. [DOI]
  IEEE ISIT, Jul. 2021. [arXiv]

Systems

• SurgeProtector: Mitigating temporal algorithmic complexity attacks using adversarial scheduling
  Nirav Atre, Hugo Sadok, Erica Chiang, Weina Wang, Justine Sherry
  ACM SIGCOMM, Aug. 2022. [DOI] [pdf]

• Caching with delayed hits
  Nirav Atre, Justine Sherry, Weina Wang, Daniel Berger
  ACM SIGCOMM, Aug. 2020. [DOI] [pdf]

Data Privacy

• Privacy-utility tradeoffs in routing cryptocurrency over payment channel networks
  Weizhao Tang, Weina Wang, Giulia Fanti, Sewoong Oh
  ACM SIGMETRICS, Jun. 2020. [DOI] [pdf]

• Data collection from privacy-aware users in the presence of social learning
  Abdullah Basar Akbay, Weina Wang, Junshan Zhang
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2019. [DOI]

• A winners-take-all incentive mechanism for crowd-powered systems
  Pengfei Jiang, Weina Wang, Yao Zhu, Jingrui He, Lei Ying
  Workshop on Economics of Networks, Systems and Computation (NetEcon), Jun. 2018. [DOI]

• Buying data from privacy-aware individuals: The effect of negative payments
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying, Junshan Zhang
  Conference on Web and Internet Economics (WINE), Montreal, Canada, Dec. 2016. [DOI] [WINE pdf]
  [technical report]

• The value of privacy: Strategic data subjects, incentive mechanisms and fundamental limits
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying, Junshan Zhang
  ACM Transactions on Economics and Computation, Aug. 2018. [DOI] [TEAC pdf]
  ACM SIGMETRICS, Antibes Juan-les-Pins, France, Jun. 2016. [DOI] [SIGMETRICS pdf]
  Kenneth C. Sevcik Outstanding Student Paper Award

• A game-theoretic approach to quality control for collecting privacy-preserving data
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying, Junshan Zhang
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2015. [DOI] [Allerton pdf]
  [technical report]

• A minimax distortion view of differentially private query release
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying, Junshan Zhang
  Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers (Asilomar), Pacific Grove, CA, Nov. 2015. [DOI] [Asilomar pdf] [technical report]

• On the relation between identifiability, differential privacy, and mutual-information privacy
  Weina Wang, Lei Ying, Junshan Zhang
  IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Sep. 2016. [DOI] [TIT pdf]
  Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing (Allerton), Monticello, IL, Sep. 2014. [DOI]
  Poster presented at IEEE North American School of Information Theory, Toronto, Canada, Jun. 2014. [poster]