Maria Gini

Maria Gini is a distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota's College of Science & Engineering. She holds the titles of CSE Distinguished Professor and Distinguished University Teaching Professor, reflecting her exceptional contributions to both research and education in computing.

Dr. Gini's research focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, and intelligent agents, with particular expertise in decision making for autonomous agents across various application domains. Her work spans swarm robotics, distributed methods for task allocation, robot exploration of unknown environments, navigation in dense crowds, and conversational agents. She leads the Next Generation Robotics Laboratory and has directed significant projects including MAGNET (Intelligent Agents for Electronic Commerce) and TAC-SCM (Autonomous Agents for Supply-Chain Management).

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated autonomous systems capable of operating in complex, dynamic environments. The research shows strong interdisciplinary connections between robotics, artificial intelligence, and real-world applications in emergency response, environmental monitoring, e-commerce, and social interaction. A notable trend in her recent work is the emphasis on diversity and inclusion in AI research and education.

• Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), 2025
• Winner of the IJCAI Donald E. Walker Distinguished Service Award, 2024
• ACM/SIGAI Autonomous Agents Research Award, 2022
• ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, and AAAI Fellow
• Numerous university-level awards for teaching and service

Dr. Gini has advised an impressive 34 PhD students throughout her career, demonstrating her commitment to mentoring the next generation of computer scientists. She has secured significant research funding through grants from NSF and other agencies, supporting projects like the Summer Computing Academy for high-school students and MinneWIC (the ACM-W Celebration of Women in Computing in the Upper Midwest). Her service contributions include leadership roles in major professional organizations including serving as President of the International Foundation on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (IFAAMAS) and General Chair of IJCAI 2021.

In addition to her research laboratory, Dr. Gini has been instrumental in establishing several important initiatives including the Summer Computing Academy, MinneWIC, and DREU (Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates). Her work extends beyond traditional academic boundaries through collaborations with industry and government agencies focused on applying AI to real-world challenges in emergency response, commerce, and environmental sustainability.