PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Tandy Warnow

Also known as Tandy Jo Warnow

Tandy Warnow is a computer scientist whose algorithms estimate evolutionary trees for biology and historical linguistics, using graph algorithms together with machine learning and statistical learning. After a Berkeley mathematics PhD in 1991 under Eugene Lawler, she held posts at Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas, and she moved to Illinois in 2014. Her SATé method of 2009 worked out sequence alignments and trees together for thousands of organisms, and she became an ACM Fellow in 2015. She received the International Society for Computational Biology's 2024 Accomplishments by a Senior Scientist Award and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2026. At Illinois, she is the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Associate Director of the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science.

Born
1955
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1984–1993

    A Berkeley PhD and postdocs

    She earns a bachelor's degree in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and a PhD in mathematics there in 1991, under Eugene Lawler. Postdoctoral training with Simon Tavare and Michael Waterman at the University of Southern California follows in 1991–1992, and a position at Sandia National Laboratories in 1992–1993.

  2. 1993–1998

    Penn and Indo-European trees

    She holds a position at the University of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1998. In 1995, she works with Donald Ringe and Ann Taylor at Penn on perfect phylogeny computations that give a comprehensive theory for the timing of the early subdivisions in the Indo-European languages.

  3. 1998–2014

    Texas and the SATé method

    She joins the University of Texas in 1998 and receives the David Bruton Jr. Centennial Professorship in Computer Science at Austin in 2010. In 2009, with biologist Randy Linder and their graduate students, she reports SATé in the journal Science, a method that works out sequence alignments and evolutionary trees together for thousands of organisms in as little as 24 hours.

  4. 2014–2015

    Illinois and an ACM Fellowship

    In 2014, she joins the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a Founder Professor of Engineering. With her students she develops PASTA and UPP, two multiple sequence alignment methods that work with up to 1 million sequences, and ACM names her a Fellow in 2015 for contributions to mathematical theory, algorithms, and software for large-scale molecular phylogenetics and historical linguistics.

  5. 2020

    C3.ai institute co-chief scientist

    In 2020, she becomes co-chief scientist of the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute, a $367 million effort led by Illinois faculty in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, that supports research including machine learning and artificial intelligence. Illinois also names her Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering in 2020.

  6. 2024

    ISCB senior scientist award

    In 2024, the International Society for Computational Biology gives her its Accomplishments by a Senior Scientist Award for her work in mathematical phylogenetics and algorithm development for evolutionary biology. Her methods and software for multiple sequence alignment and species tree estimation are used by biological consortia.

  7. 2026

    Election to the American Academy

    In 2026, she is elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The honour follows her fellowships with the International Society for Computational Biology in 2017 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2021.

  8. As of October 2026

    Illinois chair and ISCB treasurer

    She is Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Associate Director of the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science at Illinois, and she serves as Treasurer of the International Society for Computational Biology for 2025–2027. Her methods combine graph algorithms with machine learning or statistical learning, and she teaches CS 581, Algorithmic Genomic Biology, in Fall 2026.

Career

  1. Since 2025International Society for Computational BiologyTreasurer
  2. Since 2014University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignFounder Professor of Engineering, Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering
  3. From 2020C3.ai Digital Transformation InstituteCo-Chief Scientist
  4. 1998–2014University of Texas at AustinDavid Bruton Jr. Centennial Professor of Computer Science
  5. 1993–1998University of Pennsylvania
  6. 1992–1993National Nuclear Security Administration
  7. 1991–1992University of Southern CaliforniaPostdoctoral researcher

Education

  1. 1991University of California, BerkeleyPhD in mathematics
  2. 1984University of California, BerkeleyBachelor's degree in mathematics

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 Tandy Warnow. 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. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 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.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Tandy Warnow yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Tandy Warnow | Siebel School of Computing and Data Science | Illinois siebelschool.illinois.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Tandy Warnow tandy.cs.illinois.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Tandy Warnow - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Method For Computing Evolutionary Trees Could Revolutionize Evolutionary Biology | ScienceDaily sciencedaily.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Warnow Named a Fellow of ACM | Siebel School of Computing and Data Science | Illinois siebelschool.illinois.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. $367 million C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Launches | The Grainger College of Engineering | Illinois grainger.illinois.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. February 15, 2024: ISCB Congratulates 2024 Award Winners iscb.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Dr. Tandy Warnow Was Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences qcb-dornsife.usc.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.