Professor Georgia Koutrika

Department of Computer Science

Professional Profile

Dr. Georgia Koutrika is Teaching and Research Faculty at the University of Nicosia in Athens and a Research Director at Athena Research Center, where she leads the User-Centered Systems Department. Her research investigates how artificial intelligence can transform data management and data access, with particular emphasis on natural language interfaces to databases, conversational data exploration, semantic data systems, recommender systems, algorithmic fairness, and responsible AI.

Before joining Athena Research Center, she was a Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs, a researcher at IBM Research Almaden, and a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University.

Dr. Georgia Koutrika has developed technologies for learning analytics, recommendation, personalization, information extraction, entity integration, and intelligent data interfaces. Her work has been incorporated in commercial products, described in 19 granted patents and 26 patent applications in the US and worldwide, and published in top-tier conferences and journals. She has recently co-authored the book on “Natural Language Interfaces for Databases with Deep Learning”. She has received the EDBT 2023 Test-of-Time Award, two ACM SIGMOD Best Demo Awards, and multiple industrial recognitions for innovation, leadership, and team development.

Leadership and Professional Service

Dr. Koutrika holds prominent leadership positions in the international data management community. She serves on the VLDB Endowment Board of Trustees, the EDBT Executive Board, and the ACM Europe Council. She is Coordinating Editor-in-Chief of The VLDB Journal . She chairs the ACM Europe Working Group on Seasonal Schools and the ACM SIGMOD Greek Chapter. She is General Co-Chair of VLDB 2027 and Tutorial Chair of ACM SIGMOD 2028.

Her previous roles include Program Committee Co-Chair of VLDB 2023, Co-Editor-in-Chief of PVLDB Volume 16, General Chair of ACM SIGMOD 2016, and member of the PVLDB Advisory Board. She has served in editorial and organizational roles for SIGMOD, VLDB, ICDE, EDBT, RecSys, TKDE, and other leading venues.

Research Leadership

Dr. Koutrika leads research on intelligent data exploration, conversational AI, semantic query engines, learned data management, and trustworthy algorithmic systems. She coordinates the European project DataGEMS and participates or has participated in major European and industrial initiatives, including ARMADA, INODE, EOSC Future, FAIRCORE4EOSC, and collaborations with the industry. She has supervised and mentored numerous doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate students across Greece, Europe, and the United States.

Education and Recognition

Dr. Koutrika holds a PhD in Computer Science, an MSc in Advanced Information Systems, and a BSc in Computer Science from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is an ACM Senior Member, and an IEEE Senior Member. Her broader scientific engagement includes invited lectures, keynote talks, summer schools, public panels, media interviews, and outreach activities concerning trustworthy AI, equitable computing, and the future of data access.