Dr. Zvi Galil earned BS and MS degrees in Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University, both summa cum laude, and his PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. After a post-doctorate in IBM’s Thomas J. Watson research center, he returned to Israel and joined the faculty of Tel-Aviv University, serving as chair of the Computer Science department in 1979-1982.
In 1982 he joined the faculty of Columbia University, serving as the chair of the Computer Science Department in 1989-1994 and as Morris and Alma A. Schapiro Dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science in 1995-2007. In 2007 Galil returned to Tel Aviv University and served as president. In 2009 he resigned as president and returned to the faculty as a professor of Computer Science. In July 2010 he became The John P. Imlay, Jr. Dean of Computing at Georgia Tech.
In June 2019 he stepped down as dean and became the Frederick G. Storey Chair in Computing and Executive Advisor to Online Programs. Dr. Galil was a moving force behind the establishment of Georgia Tech’s online masters in computer science (OMSCS), which by Spring 2025 had grown to more than 14,500 graduates representing more than 100 countries. Inside Higher Education noted that OMSCS “suggests that institutions can successfully deliver high-quality, low-cost degrees to students at scale.” The Chronicle of Higher Ed noted that the OMSCS “may have the best chance of changing how much students pay for a traditional degree.”
Dr. Galil’s research areas have been the design and analysis of algorithms, complexity, cryptography and experimental design. He has written over 200 scientific papers, edited 5 books, and has given more than 250 lectures in 30 countries. He is a fellow of the ACM and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has earned an honorary degree from the University of Waterloo Canda, and more recently from Columbia University.