Professor Georgia Koutrika

Department of Computer Science

Professional Profile

Dr. Georgia Koutrika is a Full Professor of Computer Science 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. Her research has been transferred into commercial systems at HP and IBM and has contributed to technologies for learning analytics, recommendation, personalization, information extraction, entity integration, and intelligent data interfaces.

Dr. Koutrika has published more than 140 papers in leading conferences and journals and holds 19 granted patents, with 26 patent applications in the United States and internationally. She is a co-author of the book Natural Language Interfaces for Databases with Deep Learning: The Never-Ending Quest for Data Accessibility. Her work 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 and chairs the ACM Europe Working Group on Seasonal Schools. 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 Huawei and Nestlé. 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 University of Athens. She is an ACM Distinguished Speaker, 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.