Vladimir Vapnik
Computer Science
Reason for Award
“For his fundamental contributions to statistical learning theory and, especially, development of a widely used approach known as Support Vector Machines that formed the foundation of modern data science”
“I believe the George Gamow Prize is especially notable given the accomplishments of the scientific community it came to represent,” Prof. Vapnik added.
Biography
Vladimir Vapnik is a computer scientist, researcher, and academic. He is one of the main developers of the Vapnik–Chervonenkis theory of statistical learning and the co-inventor of the support-vector machine method and support-vector clustering algorithms. He gained his PhD and then worked at the Institute of Control Sciences in Moscow. In 1990 he moved to the US to join AT&T Bell Labs. Later he was with NEC Laboratories, and lately with Facebook AI Research and Columbia University. As of February 1, 2021, he has an h-index of 86 and, overall, his publications have been cited 226597 times. He was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2006 and received a number of international awards, including the Kolmogorov medal.