Georgios B. Giannakis
American computer scientist (born 1958)
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Through Wireless, Big data and Renewable energy
Giannakis is internationally known for his work in the areas of statistical signal processing, distributed estimation using sensor networks, wireless communications and cross-layer network designs, on topics such as auto-regressive moving average system identification using higher-order statistics, principal component filter banks, linear precoding, multicarrier modulation, ultra-wideband communications, cognitive radios, and smart grids. Seminal work includes the development of linear precoding wireless communication systems, which provided a unified approach for designing space–time block codes that achieve data high rates and reliability, and proposal of zero-padding as an alternative to the cyclic prefix for multi-carrier communication systems, which had impact in the multi-band ultra wide band standard. Current research focuses on big data, graph learning, and network science with applications to communication, and power networks with renewables.
Giannakis has left a substantial academic legacy as an advisor of more than 60 PhD and 35 MSc dissertations, as well as a mentor of more than 30 postdoctoral researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Minnesota.
Early life
Born in Piraeus and raised in Corinth, Greece, Giannakis received his MEng in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 1981, his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1983, his M.Sc. in mathematics from the University of Southern California in 1986, and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California also in 1986. After completing his Ph.D., he started his academic career at the University of Virginia in 1987 and moved to the University of Minnesota in 1999. As a professor, he built a distinguished research group making contributions in many areas including statistical signal processing, wireless communications, sensor and mobile ad hoc networks, and artificial intelligence (AI).
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Invention and commercialization
Giannakis has 37 US and foreign patents issued in the fields of wireless communications (several related to the 4G LTE standard), cognitive radio sensing, signal processing, power system monitoring, and photovoltaic inverters in residential power distribution. Through those, he became a fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors. Giannakis’ standard essential patents for LTE and 5G were at the center of a litigation brought by the U. of Minnesota, which was settled with a significant amount in 2025 (highest received by the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota).
Selected books and book chapters
- G. B. Giannakis, Y. Hua, P. Stoica, L. Tong, Editors, Signal Processing Advances in Wireless and Mobile Communications, Vol. 1: Trends in Channel Est. and Equalization, Prentice Hall, 2000.
- G. B. Giannakis, Y. Hua, P. Stoica, L. Tong, Editors, Signal Processing Advances in Wireless and Mobile Communications, Vol. 2: Trends in Single- and Multi-User Systems, Prentice Hall, Inc., 2000.
- G. B. Giannakis, Z. Liu, X. Ma, and S. Zhou, Space-Time Coding for Broadband Wireless Communications, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.
- V. Kekatos, G. Wang, H. Zhu, and G. B. Giannakis, "PSSE redux: Convex relaxation, decentralized, robust, and dynamic approaches", Chapter in Advances in Electric Power and Energy; M. El-Hawary Editor, 2018.
- G. Mateos and G. B. Giannakis, "Robust PCA by controlling sparsity in model residuals", Chapter in T. Bouwmans, E. Zahzah, and N. Aybat, Editors, CRC Press, 2017.
- G. B. Giannakis, G. Mateos, I. D. Schizas, H. Zhu, and Q. Ling, "Decentralized learning for wireless communications and networking", Chapter in Splitting Methods... by R. Glowinski, S. Osher, and W. Yin, Editors, NY, Springer, 2016.
- X. Ma and G. B. Giannakis, "Communicating over Wireless Doubly-Selective Channels", Chapter in Space-Time Wireless..., H. Boelcskei, D. Gesbert, C.B. Papadias and A.-J. van der Veen Eds., Cambridge U. Press, 2006.
- Z. Tian, T. Davidson, X. Luo, X. Wu and G. B. Giannakis, "Ultra-Wideband Pulse-Shaper Design", Chapter in UWB Wireless Communications, H. Arslan and Y. Chen, Wiley 2005.
- G. B. Giannakis, "Statistical Signal Processing", Chapter in DSP, V. K. Madisetti, D. Williams, Editors-in-Chief, CRC Press, 1998.
- G. B. Giannakis, "Trends in Spectral Analysis: Higher-Order and Cyclic Statistics", Chapter in Digital Signal Proc. Tech., P. Papamichalis and R. Kerwin, Eds., pp. 74–97, vol. CR57, 1995.
Selected patents
- G. B. Giannakis, and X. Ma, "Estimating Frequency-offsets and Multi-antenna Channels in MIMO-OFDM Systems", US Patent no. US 10,700,800 B2; issued June 30, 2020; impacted LTE (3GPP Tech. Spec.36.211, Sec.6.10).
- S. Dhople, G. B. Giannakis, and E. Dall’Anese, "Decentralized Optimal Dispatch of Photovoltaic Inverters in Power Distribution Systems", US Patent no. 10,139,800 B2, issued Nov. 27, 2018.
- G. B. Giannakis, and H. Zhu, "State Estimation of Electrical Power Networks using Semidefinite Relaxation", US Patent no. 9,863,985, issued January 9, 2018.
- G. B. Giannakis, E. Dall'Anese, J. A. Bazerque, H. Zhu, and G. Mateos, "Robust Parametric Power Spectrum Density Map Construction", US Patent no. 9,363,679, issued June 7, 2016; RF maps for wireless cognitive radios.
- G. B. Giannakis, G. Mateos, and J. A. Bazerque, "Non-parametric Power Spectral Density Map Construction", US Patent no. 9,191,831, issued November 17, 2015.
- G. B. Giannakis, Y. Xin, and Z. Wang, "Wireless communication system having linear encoder", US Patent no. RE45,230, issued Nov. 4, 2014; complex-field codes that combat fading effects to ensure fast-reliable wireless links.
- G. B. Giannakis, P. Xia and S. Zhou, "Bandwidth- and Power-Efficient Multi-Carrier Multiple Access for Uplink Broadband Wireless Communications", US Patent no. 7,672,384, issued March 2, 2010.