Phokion Kolaitis is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) and a Principal Research Staff Member (part-time) at the IBM Almaden Research Center. He has held leadership roles as Chair of UC Santa Cruz's Computer Science Department (1997-2001, 2014-2015) and Senior Manager at IBM's Computer Science Principles and Methodologies Department (2004-2008). His research bridges database systems, computational complexity, and logic in computer science, with significant contributions to schema mappings, data exchange, and constraint satisfaction problems. His work spans foundational studies in database theory, logic, and algorithms, influencing both academic research and industrial applications. Kolaitis has received numerous accolades, including two ACM PODS Alberto Mendelzon Test-of-Time Awards, IBM Research Division Outstanding Innovation and Technical Achievement Awards, and Best Paper Awards at top conferences like ICDT and FCT. He is a Fellow of AAAS and ACM, a Foreign Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Athens, Greece. 2017 Best Paper Award (FCT 2017) 2015 IBM Outstanding Innovation Award 2014 Honorary Doctorate (University of Athens) 2008 IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award Fellow of AAAS and ACM Foreign Member, Finnish Academy of Science Kolaitis collaborates extensively, co-authoring with researchers like D. Burdick, R. Fagin, and M.Y. Vardi. At UC Santa Cruz, he advises on database systems and logic, while his part-time role at IBM focuses on theoretical advancements in data management and complexity.









