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Hi, I am Aobo

Aobo Lyu

Ph.D. Student at Washington University in St. Louis

I am a PhD student in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, advised by Prof. Andrew Clark and Prof. Netanel Raviv. I received my M.S. in Systems Science and Mathematics from WashU in 2024, and my B.S. in Information Management and Information Systems from Sichuan University in 2021. My research focuses on universal principles of complex systems, with a current emphasis on higher-order interactions — specifically through Partial Information Decomposition (PID) and higher-order network control.

Education

Ph.D. in Systems Science and Mathematics
Extracurricular Activities:
  • French Horn Player, WashU Symphony Orchestra & Wind Ensemble
  • Member, ESE Ph.D. Advisory Board
M.S. in Systems Science and Mathematics
Extracurricular Activities:
  • French Horn Player, WashU Symphony Orchestra
  • Member, ESE Master Advisory Board
Honors:
Honors Master Student; Outstanding Master’s Research Award
Visiting Student, School of Information
Extracurricular Activities:
  • French Horn Player, The Intermission Orchestra at Berkeley
B.S. in Information Management and Information Systems
Extracurricular Activities:
  • Principal French Horn, SCU Symphony Orchestra & Wind Ensemble
  • Captain, School of Public Administration Badminton Team
  • Head of Technical Department, University Cycling Club
Honors:
Honors Graduate of Sichuan Province, 2021; Yongzhuang Top-10 Undergraduate Scholarship, 2019

Research Interests

Publications

Closed-Form Gaussian Estimators for Multi-Source Partial Information Decomposition
A. Lyu A. Clark N. Raviv

We develop closed-form Gaussian estimators for multi-source PID, providing two-source redundancy, multi-source unique information, and K-th order synergistic effects. The estimators are derived from conditional-independence-based information measures and reduce to log-determinant expressions in covariance blocks.

Structural Impossibility of Antichain-Lattice Partial Information Decomposition
A. Lyu A. Clark N. Raviv

This work establishes fundamental structural impossibility results for the antichain-lattice framework of Partial Information Decomposition.

Multivariate Partial Information Decomposition: Constructions, Inconsistencies, and Alternative Measures
A. Lyu A. Clark N. Raviv

We provide explicit closed-form formulas for all information atoms in the two-source case and prove that for three or more sources, PID suffers from fundamental inconsistencies. We propose alternative measures to address these issues.

The Whole Is Less than the Sum of Parts: Subsystem Inconsistency in Partial Information Decomposition
A. Lyu A. Clark N. Raviv

This work identifies and analyzes the subsystem inconsistency problem in Partial Information Decomposition, showing that the whole can be less than the sum of its parts.

Emergence and Causality in Complex Systems: A Survey of Causal Emergence and Related Quantitative Studies
Entropy 2024
B. Yuan J. Zhang A. Lyu J. Wu Z. Wang M. Yang K. Liu M. Mou P. Cui

A comprehensive survey reviewing quantitative approaches to understanding causal emergence in complex systems, covering information-theoretic and computational methods.

Explicit Formula for Partial Information Decomposition
A. Lyu A. Clark N. Raviv

We derive an explicit closed-form formula for the bivariate Partial Information Decomposition, providing analytical solutions for redundancy, unique information, and synergy.

Capturing Higher-order Relationships through Information Decomposition
A. Lyu

Master’s thesis exploring the use of information decomposition frameworks to capture and quantify higher-order relationships in complex systems.

System Information Decomposition
A. Lyu B. Yuan O. Deng M. Yang A. Clark J. Zhang

We introduce System Information Decomposition (SID), a holistic framework that decomposes the information entropy of all variables in a system into information atoms, going beyond the source-target paradigm of traditional PID.

A Study on the Dynamic Issuance Mechanism Based on Central Bank Digital Currency
A. Lyu J. Jiang L. Zhou

This paper studies the dynamic issuance mechanism of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and its implications for monetary policy.

Research on Credit Mechanism of Electronic Honor Certificate System Based on Blockchain
Y. Zhao J. Li L. Zhou A. Lyu

This paper proposes a blockchain-based credit mechanism for electronic honor certificate systems.

Teaching & Service

1

Beijing / Online

Academic reading group organizer and speaker. For a detailed list of my activities, topics, and related links, see my Swarma profile.

Research Reading Group Organizer & Speaker

2021 - Present


Teaching Assistant

Fall 2024 - Fall 2026

Washington University in St. Louis

Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering.

ESE 2180: Linear Algebra and Component Analysis

Fall 2026 - Fall 2026

ESE 1050: Introduction to Electrical and Systems Engineering

Fall 2025 - Fall 2025

ESE 5240: Estimation and Detection

Spring 2025 - Spring 2025

ESE 5290: High-Dimensional Information Processing

Fall 2024 - Fall 2024

2

3
Peer Reviewer

-

Online

Served as a reviewer for the following journals and conferences.

Automatica

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IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT)

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IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)

-

Entropy

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Gallery

WashU Wind Ensemble

WashU Symphony Orchestra

The Intermission Orchestra at Berkeley

SCU Symphony Orchestra

SCU Wind Ensemble

SCU Badminton Team

SCU Badminton Team

 Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.

 These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.