PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Ricardo Baeza-Yates

Also known as Ricardo A Baeza-Yates, Ricardo A. Baeza-Yates

Ricardo Baeza-Yates is a Chilean computer scientist who works on algorithms, web search and responsible AI. After a PhD at the University of Waterloo in 1989, he co-wrote the textbook Modern Information Retrieval and, from 2006 to 2016, served as VP of Research at Yahoo Labs. At Northeastern University's Institute for Experiential AI he directed research from 2021 to 2025; in 2022 he was one of the two main authors of ACM's Principles for Responsible Algorithmic Systems, and in 2024 he won Chile's National Prize for Applied and Technological Sciences. ACM announced him as the recipient of its 2025 Luiz André Barroso Award in April 2026. He is Search Chief Scientist at You.com and a part-time professor at KTH in Stockholm.

Born
1961
Works
682
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. By 1989

    A Waterloo PhD in text searching

    He graduates in engineering from Universidad de Chile, where he also earns master's degrees in computer science and electrical engineering. In 1989, he completes a PhD in computer science at the University of Waterloo with the thesis Efficient Text Searching, supervised by Gaston Gonnet.

  2. 1999–2012

    The Modern Information Retrieval textbook

    He co-authors the textbook Modern Information Retrieval with Berthier Ribeiro-Neto, published by Addison-Wesley in 1999. The second edition, published in 2011, wins the 2012 Book of the Year award of the Association for Information Science and Technology.

  3. 2002–2005

    Founding the Center for Web Research

    In 2002, he founds the Center for Web Research in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chile and directs it until 2005. The center becomes a hub that attracts top talent and supports young researchers.

  4. 2006–2016

    VP of Research at Yahoo Labs

    He becomes VP of Research at Yahoo Labs in January 2006, based in Barcelona and later in Sunnyvale, California, and leads teams in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America until February 2016. Waterloo awards him its J.W. Graham Medal in 2007, ACM names him a Fellow in 2009, and the IEEE names him a Fellow in 2011.

  5. 2016–2020

    CTO of NTENT

    In June 2016, he becomes CTO of NTENT, a search technology company in Carlsbad, California, and holds the post until June 2020. In a February 2020 interview, he says the company's search-quality challenge calls for contextualized ranking based on machine learning.

  6. 2021–2025

    Experiential AI and a national prize

    From January 2021 to March 2025, he is Director of Research at the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University's Silicon Valley campus. In 2022, he is one of the two main authors of the ACM Principles for Responsible Algorithmic Systems. In 2024, he receives Chile's National Prize for Applied and Technological Sciences, the first time a computer scientist wins it.

  7. April 2026

    The ACM Barroso Award

    In April 2026, ACM announces him as the recipient of the 2025 ACM Luiz André Barroso Award, for contributions to algorithms and information retrieval and for fostering a transnational research community across Latin America. His work includes algorithms for string searching and fuzzy matching, among them the Shift-Or algorithm.

  8. As of October 2026

    Search Chief Scientist at You.com

    He is Search Chief Scientist at You.com and, since 2025, a part-time Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He also holds part-time professorships at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and Universidad de Chile in Santiago. In a July 2026 interview, he advocates combining reliable search with AI to give AI agents accurate, trustworthy information.

Career

  1. Since 2025KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyPart-time Professor
  2. Since 2002University of ChileFounder and Director, Part-time Professor
  3. NowYou.comSearch Chief Scientist
  4. NowUniversitat Pompeu FabraPart-time Professor
  5. 2021–2025Northeastern UniversityDirector of Research
  6. 2016–2020NTENTCTO
  7. 2006–2016YahooVP of Research

Education

  1. 1989University of WaterlooPhD
  2. University of ChileEngineering degree

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Ricardo Baeza-Yates. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes KTH Royal Institute of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes KTH Royal Institute of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Universitat Pompeu Fabra. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Ricardo Baeza-Yates yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Ricardo Baeza-Yates - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Information retrieval pioneer Ricardo Baeza-Yates earns major accolade eurekalert.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Ricardo Baeza-Yates' Personal Web Site baeza.cl. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Ricardo Baeza-Yates | Mathematics | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Ricardo Baeza-Yates - Biography ae-info.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Interview with Ricardo Baeza-Yates, CTO at NTENT aitimejournal.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Northeastern University Institute for Experiential AI director of research receives major Chilean national prize news.northeastern.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Ricardo Baeza-Yates Wins Prestigious National Prize from Government of Chile ai.northeastern.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. PhD alumnus Ricardo Baeza-Yates receives 2025 ACM Luiz André Barroso Award uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. ACM ByteCast - Ricardo Baeza-Yates - Episode 88 podscripts.co. Checked 20 October 2026.