Alex Szalay

Alex Szalay is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and Computer Science at the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University. He leads the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science (IDIES) and contributes to projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and SciServer. His research spans cosmology, data-intensive computing, and AI-driven astronomy.

• Education: B.Sc. Physics (University of Debrecen, 1969), M.Sc. Theoretical Physics (Eötvös Loránd University, 1972), Ph.D. Astrophysics (Eötvös Loránd University, 1975).
• Affiliations: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Computer Science, IDIES, Oncology/Dermatology (JHMI).

Research Interests

Focuses on cosmology (dark matter, galaxy formation), data-intensive systems (SciServer, GrayWulf clusters), AI applications in astronomy, and interdisciplinary projects like AstroPath (cancer immunotherapy via spatial data analysis). Has pioneered big data frameworks for astrophysics and environmental sensor networks.

Awards

• Széchenyi Prize (1991)
• Jim Gray eScience Award (2007)
• Sidney Fernbach Award (2015)
• Member of National Academy of Sciences (2023)

Labs & Collaborations

Founded IDIES (2009) and co-developed tools like SkyServer, Data-Scope, and the turbulence database JHTDB. Collaborates on genomics alignment (Arioc), soil sensor networks, and oncology spatial profiling (AstroPath).