PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Nicolas Heess

Nicolas Heess is a research scientist and Director of Robotics at Google DeepMind in London, and an honorary professor at University College London. He co-authored Continuous control with deep reinforcement learning, which introduced the DDPG algorithm and appeared at ICLR 2016. ICLR honored that paper with a Test of Time award in 2026. He earned a PhD in neuroinformatics at the University of Edinburgh in 2011, with a thesis on mid-level structure in natural images. The ICML 2024 Best Paper award went to Genie, which he co-authored.

Works
201

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 2011

    A neuroinformatics PhD in Edinburgh

    He completes a PhD in neuroinformatics at the University of Edinburgh in 2011, with a thesis on mid-level structure in natural images. He also holds an MSc in neuroscience from Oxford and a BSc in software engineering from the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Potsdam. Before he joins Google DeepMind, he works as a postdoctoral researcher at UCL's Gatsby Unit.

  2. 2016

    Continuous control with deep RL

    He co-authors Continuous control with deep reinforcement learning, which appears at ICLR 2016 and introduces the DDPG algorithm.

  3. 2024

    A best paper for Genie

    He co-authors Genie: Generative Interactive Environments, which trains from unlabelled internet videos. ICML 2024 gives the paper its Best Paper award.

  4. May 2025

    A 2025 Humanoids Summit keynote

    In May 2025 he shares an afternoon keynote with Francesco Nori at the Humanoids Summit in London. Both speakers hold the title Director and Research Scientist for Robotics at Google DeepMind.

  5. 2026

    A test of time award

    In 2026 ICLR gives its Test of Time award to two ICLR 2016 papers. One is Continuous control with deep reinforcement learning, which he co-authors.

  6. As of October 2026

    Director of robotics in London

    He is a research scientist and Director of Robotics at Google DeepMind in London, and an honorary professor at University College London. His research brings AI into the physical world to build general-purpose robots.

Sources and credits

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  1. Past and Current PhD Students and Postdocs homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Dr. Nicolas Heess - Tech Week Singapore 2026 singaporetechnologyweek.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Announcing the Test of Time Awards from ICLR 2016 – ICLR Blog blog.iclr.cc. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. ICML 2024 Awards icml.cc. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Genie: Generative Interactive Environments — Google DeepMind deepmind.google. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Past speakers 2025 | Learn from Robotics Leaders — Join the Conversation — Humanoids Summit humanoidssummit.com. Checked 15 October 2026.