Dr. Vazirani is a leading researcher in algorithm design, and more generally, in the theory of computing. Throughout his research career, he as demonstrated a consistent ability to obtain novel algorithmic ideas, frequently of substantial mathematical depth, which while solving the problem at hand, also lay the groundwork for future contributions by others.

Dr. Vazirani's research career spans over twenty five years. During the first ten years, he made seminal contributions to the classical maximum matching problem which has historically played a central role in the development of the theory of algorithms. He discovered, jointly with other researchers, the fastest known sequential and parallel algorithms for his problem. Over the next ten years, Vazirani focused on approximation algorithms for NP-hard problems and had much influence on this area through work on several of its fundamental problems. In 2001, he published a book on this topic. He is currently working in algorithmic game theory, in particular on algorithms for computing market equilibria.