PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Laurent El Ghaoui

Laurent El Ghaoui is a researcher in optimization and machine learning whose work includes sparse statistical models and implicit deep learning. After degrees at École Polytechnique and Stanford, he taught in France and joined UC Berkeley in 1999. He coauthored Robust Optimization in 2009 and co-founded SumUp Analytics, a streaming text analysis company, in 2017. His 2019 paper Implicit Deep Learning described neural-network predictions through fixed-point equations. He is a professor at VinUniversity, its vice provost of research and innovation, dean of engineering and computer science, and scientific director of the Center for Environmental Intelligence, and is professor emeritus at UC Berkeley.

Now at
VinUniversity and University of California, Berkeley
Works
373
Citations
46,168
h-index
53
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 28 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1985–1990

    Mathematics and a Stanford doctorate

    He earns a BS in mathematics at École Polytechnique in 1985 and a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University in March 1990.

  2. 1992–1999

    Teaching in France

    From 1992 to 1999, he is a faculty member at the École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées in Paris. He also holds part-time teaching appointments in École Polytechnique’s Applied Mathematics Department and the Mathematics in Economy program at Université de Paris-I. In 1998, he receives the CNRS Bronze Medal for Engineering Sciences.

  3. 1994

    Linear matrix inequalities book

    In 1994, he coauthors Linear Matrix Inequalities in System and Control Theory with Stephen Boyd, E. Feron and V. Balakrishnan. SIAM publishes the book as volume 15 of Studies in Applied Mathematics.

  4. 1999–2006

    Joining the Berkeley faculty

    In April 1999, he joins UC Berkeley as an acting associate professor and receives tenure in May 2001. He takes leave from July 2003 to September 2006 to work for SAC Capital Management in New York and Connecticut. In 2006, he returns full-time to Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, where he teaches optimization.

  5. 2007–2008

    Sparse principal component analysis

    In 2007, he coauthors A Direct Formulation of Sparse PCA using Semidefinite Programming with Alexandre d’Aspremont, Michael Jordan and Gert Lanckriet. The paper wins the SIAG Optimization Prize in 2008.

  6. October 2009

    The Robust Optimization book

    In October 2009, he coauthors Robust Optimization with A. Ben-Tal and A. Nemirovski. Princeton University Press publishes the book.

  7. 2017

    Co-founding SumUp Analytics

    In 2017, he co-founds SumUp Analytics, a company that provides high-speed streaming text analysis for business applications.

  8. August 2019

    Implicit Deep Learning

    In August 2019, he coauthors the preprint Implicit Deep Learning with Fangda Gu, Bertrand Travacca, Armin Askari and Alicia Y. Tsai. The work generalizes feedforward neural-network prediction rules through a fixed-point equation that defines hidden features implicitly.

  9. 2022

    Joining VinUniversity

    In 2022, he joins VinUniversity in Vietnam as vice provost of research and innovation and dean of engineering and computer sciences.

  10. As of October 2026

    Research leadership at VinUniversity

    As of October 2026, he is a professor at VinUniversity, vice provost of research and innovation, dean of its College of Engineering and Computer Science, and scientific director of its Center for Environmental Intelligence. He is also professor emeritus in electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley.

Career

  1. Since 2022VinUniversityVice Provost of Research and Innovation
  2. Since 2022VinUniversityDean of Engineering and Computer Sciences
  3. NowVinUniversityProfessor
  4. NowVinUniversityScientific Director of the Center for Environmental Intelligence
  5. NowUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Emeritus
  6. From 2017SumUp AnalyticsCo-founder
  7. From 2006University of California, Berkeley
  8. 2003–2006SAC Capital Management
  9. From 1999University of California, BerkeleyActing Associate Professor
  10. 1992–1999National Higher School of Advanced TechniquesFaculty member
  11. École PolytechniquePart-time teacher
  12. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne UniversityPart-time teacher in the Mathematics in Economy program

Education

  1. 1990Stanford UniversityPhD
  2. 1985École PolytechniqueBS

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Laurent El Ghaoui | EECS at UC Berkeley www2.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  2. LAURENT EL GHAOUI’s Home Page people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  3. Linear Matrix Inequalities in System and Control Theory web.stanford.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  4. Laurent El Ghaoui’s bio people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  5. Laurent El Ghaoui’s papers people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  6. Laurent El Ghaoui’s books people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  7. Laurent El Ghaoui simons.berkeley.edu. Checked 28 October 2026.
  8. [1908.06315] Implicit Deep Learning arxiv.org. Checked 28 October 2026.
  9. ICGEA 2027-Singapore-11th edition icgea.org. Checked 28 October 2026.
  10. Future Smart and Sustainable Cities Forum - Speakers | GREAT gsc.hkust.edu.hk. Checked 28 October 2026.
  11. GITEX AI ASIA Speakers 2025 | Past Edition Archive gitexasia.com. Checked 28 October 2026.