Constantinos Daskalakis

Constantinos Daskalakis is the Avanessians Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and a member of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He is also Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Archimedes, a research center based in Athens, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Percepta AI. He holds a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

His research lies in theoretical computer science and its intersections with game theory, economics, probability theory, machine learning, and statistics. His work has resolved major open problems concerning the computational complexity of Nash equilibrium and the mathematical structure and computational complexity of multi-item auctions. His current research spans multi-agent learning, high-dimensional statistics, learning from biased and dependent data, causal inference, econometrics, and generative artificial intelligence, including diffusion models and the application of generative AI to real-world challenges in areas such as biology, robotics, markets, and industry.

In 2018, Daskalakis was awarded the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize by the International Mathematical Union for transforming our understanding of the computational complexity of fundamental problems in markets, auctions, equilibria, and other economic structures. The prize, awarded at the International Congress of Mathematicians alongside the Fields Medals, was the IMU’s highest distinction for outstanding contributions to the mathematical aspects of information science and is now continued as the IMU Abacus Medal.

Together with Professor Paul Goldberg and his doctoral advisor, Professor Christos Papadimitriou, Daskalakis has received major distinctions for his seminal work on the computational complexity of Nash equilibrium, including the Kalai Prize from the Game Theory Society and a STOC Test of Time Award. His many other honors include the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Simons Investigator Award, the SIAM Outstanding Paper Prize, the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, the Bodossaki Foundation Distinguished Young Scientists Award, and test-of-time awards recognizing the lasting impact of his research in theoretical computer science and algorithmic economics.

Daskalakis is an ACM Fellow and has received honorary distinctions from the University of Patras and the University of Piraeus. He was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of the Redeemer by the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic. He also chaired the High-Level Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence to the Prime Minister of Greece, established to formulate policy recommendations and contribute to the development of Greece’s long-term national strategy for artificial intelligence.