Magdalena Balazinska

Magdalena Balazinska is Professor, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair, and Director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. Previously, she served as Director of the eScience Institute, Associate Vice Provost for Data Science, and Director of the Advanced Data Science PhD Option.

Her academic background includes a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2006).

Her research centers on database management systems with current emphasis on data management for data science, big data systems, cloud computing, and image/video analytics. This work bridges Human-Centered Computing and Software & Hardware Systems domains, addressing challenges in scalable data infrastructure and analytical applications.

Her scientific awards include:

• ACM Fellow
• Microsoft Research New Faculty Fellow (2007)
• VLDB Women in Database Research Award (2016)
• ACM SIGMOD Test-of-Time Award (2017)
• 10-Year Most Influential Paper Award (2010)
• NSF CAREER Award (2009)
• UW CSE ACM Teaching Award (2013)
• Jean Loup Baer Career Development Professorship (2014-2017)
• Google Research Awards (2011, 2018)
• HP Labs Research Innovation Awards (2009, 2010)
• Rogel Faculty Support Award (2006)
• Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship (2003-2005)
• Multiple Best Paper and Best of Conference Awards

Through leadership roles including Director of the Advanced Data Science PhD Option, she has mentored numerous graduate students while securing research funding from NSF, Google, HP Labs, and Microsoft Research. Her editorial work as Co-Editor-in-Chief for PVLDB Volume 13 and VLDB'20 PC co-chair demonstrates community impact.

She leads the Allen School's Database Group and founded the eScience Institute, driving interdisciplinary collaborations in data-intensive science across campus and national research networks.