Matrix Sketching in Optimization

Continuous optimization is a fundamental topic both in theoretical computer science and applications of machine learning. Meanwhile, an important idea in the development modern algorithms it the use of randomness to achieve empirical speedup and improved theoretical runtimes. Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and matrix-multiplication time linear program solvers [1] are two important examples of such achievements. Matrix sketching and related ideas provide a theoretical framework for the behavior of random matrices and vectors that arise in these algorithms, thereby provide a natural way to better understand the behavior of such randomized algorithms. In this dissertation, we consider three general problems in this area.