Zvi Galil
Dr. Zvi Galil earned BS and MS degrees in Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University, both summa cum laude, and his PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. After a post-doctorate in IBM’s Thomas J. Watson research Center, he joined the faculty of Tel-Aviv University, serving as chair of the Computer Science department in 1979-1982.
In 1982, he joined the faculty of Columbia University, serving as the chair of the Computer Science department (1989-1994), then as the dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science (1995-2007). As dean, he oversaw the naming of the School, the creation of the Biomedical Engineering department (now at the top ten) and significant growth of the faculty (92 to 152), the student body, and the distance learning program. In the U.S. News and World Report’s ranking, the school rose from 31st to 19th place. In 2008, Columbia University established the Zvi Galil Award for Student Life. In 2009, the Society of Columbia Graduates awarded him the Great Teacher Award.
Galil served as the President of Tel Aviv University (2007-2009) and subsequently as the dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing (2010-2019). Lately, he has been serving as the Frederick G. Storey Chair in Computing and Executive Advisor to Online Programs at Georgia Tech.
At Georgia Tech, Galil led the faculty in the creation of the of the College of Computing’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program. As a MOOC-based program it was the first of its kind. It is highly affordable and of equal quality to the corresponding on-campus program showing the way how top universities can significantly increase access to higher education. OMSCS has become the largest online master’s program in computer science in the United States. In Spring 2024, it enrolled 13,600 students. In its first ten years it graduated over 11,000 students.
OMSCS has been featured in hundreds of articles, including a 2013 front-page article in the New York Times and interviews in The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Inside Higher Education noted that OMSCS “suggests that institutions can successfully deliver high-quality, low-cost degrees to students at scale”. The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that OMSCS “may have the best chance of changing how much students pay for a traditional degree.” A 2023 Forbes article described OMSCS as “The Greatest Degree Program Ever”.
Galil’s research is in the areas of algorithms (particularly string matching and graph algorithms), complexity and cryptography. He has also conducted research in experimental design with Jack Kiefer. Galil has served as the editor in chief of two journals. He is a Fellow of the ACM and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
In 2012, The University of Waterloo awarded Galil with an honorary Doctor of Mathematics. In 2020, Academic Influence included Galil in the list of the 10 most influential computer scientists of the last decade, and the advisory board of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech established the Zvi Galil PEACE chair.