Researcher

Pedro Larrañaga

Also known as Pedro Larrañaga Múgica

Pedro Larrañaga is a full professor of computer science and artificial intelligence at the Technical University of Madrid, and he directs the ELLIS Unit Madrid. His AI work runs from a thesis on Bayesian networks, which won an award in 1995, to a 2024 survey of estimation of distribution algorithms written with Concha Bielza. He started as an assistant professor at the University of the Basque Country in 1985 and became a full professor in Madrid in 2007. The European Association for Artificial Intelligence recognized him as a Fellow in 2012, and he received the Spanish National Prize in Computer Science in 2013. Academia Europaea named him a Fellow in 2018, and ELLIS and IEEE named him Fellows in 2023.

Timeline

  1. 1985–2007

    Basque university, then Madrid

    He starts as an assistant professor at the University of the Basque Country in 1985, and his thesis on Bayesian networks wins an extraordinary award there in 1995. He becomes a full professor at the Technical University of Madrid in 2007.

  2. 2012

    A European AI fellowship

    The European Association for Artificial Intelligence recognizes him as a Fellow in 2012.

  3. 2013

    A national computer science prize

    He receives the Spanish National Prize in Computer Science in 2013.

  4. 2018

    Academia Europaea fellowship

    He becomes a Fellow of Academia Europaea in 2018.

  5. 2022

    A new ELLIS unit in Madrid

    The ELLIS network adds the Madrid unit in 2022, with Pedro Larrañaga as unit director and Concha Bielza as co-director.

  6. 2023

    ELLIS and IEEE fellowships

    He becomes an ELLIS Fellow and an IEEE Fellow in 2023.

  7. 2024

    Survey of estimation of distribution algorithms

    In 2024 he and Concha Bielza publish a survey, Estimation of Distribution Algorithms in Machine Learning, in IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation.

  8. As of October 2026

    Full professor and unit director

    He is a full professor of computer science and artificial intelligence at the Technical University of Madrid and directs the ELLIS Unit Madrid.

Sources and credits

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  1. Pedro Larrañaga - Computational Intelligence Group cig.fi.upm.es. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Academy of Europe: CV ae-info.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Awards - Computational Intelligence Group cig.fi.upm.es. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Larrañaga Múgica, Pedro - Departamento de Inteligencia Artificial dia.fi.upm.es. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. ELLIS expands further: New unit in Madrid added to the network | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Las seis universidades públicas de Madrid se unen a la Red ELLIS de Inteligencia Artificial para atraer talento internacional a la región | Universidad Complutense de Madrid ucm.es. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Pedro Larrañaga | European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems ellis.eu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Pedro Larrañaga | ELLIIT elliit.se. Checked 14 October 2026.