PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Massimiliano Pontil

Also known as Massi Pontil

Massimiliano Pontil is a machine learning researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, where he leads the Computational Statistics and Machine Learning unit. He studied physics at the University of Genoa, taking an MSc in 1994 and a PhD in 1999. In 2005 he and two co-authors published Learning Multiple Tasks with Kernel Methods in the Journal of Machine Learning Research. A 2013 paper on sparse coding for multitask and transfer learning shared ICML's runner-up best paper award. He is also a professor at University College London, and ELLIS lists him as a Fellow.

Works
300
Citations
21,157
h-index
62

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1994–1999

    Physics degrees in Genoa

    He earns an MSc in physics from the University of Genoa in 1994 and a PhD in physics from the same university in 1999.

  2. 2005

    Learning multiple tasks with kernel methods

    With Theodoros Evgeniou and Charles Micchelli, he publishes Learning Multiple Tasks with Kernel Methods. The paper appears in the Journal of Machine Learning Research in 2005.

  3. 2011

    A chair of excellence in Madrid

    He is named one of the 2011 Chairs of Excellence at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

  4. 2013

    An ICML runner-up paper

    He receives the ICML 2013 best paper runner-up award. The runner-up list includes Sparse coding for multitask and transfer learning, a paper that he co-authors with Andreas Maurer and Bernardino Romera-Paredes.

  5. 2020–2022

    Advisory board and FAIR role

    In 2020 he sits on the advisory board of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany. In 2022 he is Spoke 10 leader at the FAIR Foundation.

  6. As of October 2026

    Senior researcher at IIT

    He is a senior researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, where he leads the Computational Statistics and Machine Learning unit, and he is also a professor at University College London. His work focuses on the mathematical foundations of machine learning, with contributions to kernel methods, multitask and transfer learning, and statistical learning theory. ELLIS lists him as a Fellow and Unit Director of ELLIS Unit Genoa.

Sources and credits

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  1. Massimiliano Pontil | UC3M uc3m.es. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Learning Multiple Tasks with Kernel Methods jmlr.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Massimiliano Pontil - Ricercatore fair-fe.fondazioneemblema.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Awards | ICML Atlanta icml.cc. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. [1209.0738] Sparse coding for multitask and transfer learning arxiv.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Massimiliano Pontil | People details iit.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Massimiliano Pontil | ALT 2025 algorithmiclearningtheory.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Massimiliano Pontil | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 14 October 2026.