Honoring a Pioneer: Zvi Galil on Algorithms, Academia, and Columbia Roots

Zvi Galil, Dean Emeritus of Columbia Engineering, has been named an honorary degree recipient by Columbia University. Galil, alongside four fellow honorands, will be presented May 21 with an honorary Doctor of Letters at the 2025 University Commencement. 

A pioneer in the design and analysis of algorithms, computational complexity, and cryptography, Galil is a beloved teacher and administrator. He began his academic career at Tel Aviv University and IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center before joining Columbia University in 1982, where he chaired the Department of Computer Science (1989–1994) and served as dean of Columbia Engineering (1995–2007). He served as the dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing from 2010 to 2019 and the president at Tel Aviv University from 2007 to 2009. During his time at Columbia, Galil oversaw the naming of the Engineering School as The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, as well as the creation of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. During his deanship the school saw a big growth: The number of faculty grew by more than 70% and the number of students nearly doubled. In 2008, Columbia established the Zvi Galil Award for Student Life, and in 2009, the Society of Columbia Graduates awarded him the Great Teacher Award. 

At this year’s Columbia Engineering Reunion, Galil will receive the Michael Pupin Medal for Service to the Nation. This special award of distinction, will be presented to Galil at the May 29 Dean’s Welcome and CEAA Awards Dinner.

Ahead of his return to campus for the May 21 University Commencement, we asked the former dean a few questions about his career path, Columbia roots, and engineering’s evolution.

Image

You received your BS (1970) and MS (1971) degrees at Tel Aviv University in applied mathematics–and then you got your PhD from Cornell in 1975. What drew you to computer science in those early days?

I did my MS thesis in game theory with Robert Aumann, who, 35 years later, won the Nobel Prize in economics. I was attracted to computer science (CS) because it was a very young and open field. Even though I had hardly any background in it and there were no computer science departments in Israel at the time, I hoped that my mathematical background would be useful to CS research. As part of an internship with Amir Pnueli, who 25 years later won the Turing Award, at the Weizmann Institute of Science during my sophomore year, I taught one of the first computers in Israel to play a “sheep against wolves” game using Fortran. I even demonstrated this on an Israeli TV program. Later, I audited Pnueli’s course on formal languages. All of these experiences convinced me that I wanted to learn more, so I decided to go for a PhD in computer science at Cornell.

How did you get to Columbia?

Following my PhD after a post doctorate at IBM Research, I served on the faculty of the young CS department at Tel Aviv University. I spent the summers at UC Berkeley where I met Joe Traub who founded the CS department at Columbia in 1979. He recruited me to Columbia in 1982. At that point, the department had eight faculty members — in addition to Joe and me, there were two full professors from electrical engineering, one from mathematics, and three assistant professors that Joe hired. The number of students was quite small but already too large for the number of faculty in the department. This was a persistent challenge throughout the years as both the numbers of faculty and students kept rising.

Are you surprised that CS is now one of the most popular majors at the University, that it’s no longer just for engineers?

I was not surprised by the growth of computer science. In the modern age, science — in fact all of science — requires some knowledge of CS. This is intuitively true of AI, machine learning, and data science, but now the methodologies and techniques of computing have been widely adopted in the natural sciences, and even beyond in the humanities and social sciences to examine social, psychological, and cultural phenomena. Computer science skills are needed in information technology, health care, finance, energy, media, philanthropy– indeed, this is a foundational component of nearly every aspect of our lives.

You were Dean at Columbia Engineering when the biomedical engineering (BME) department was founded. Tell us about those early days of BME.

The inspiration to create a Department of Biomedical Engineering preceded me as dean. Professor Van Mow, who was partly in mechanical engineering and partly at the Medical School (Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons), had this insight and brought it to Mike Crow, who was then the vice provost (now president of Arizona State University). Mike supported the idea immediately, and in my first month as dean they both discussed it with me. Mike was able to procure the initial funding, and Van commenced hiring for the planned department. The new department was established five years later in 2000. Today it is among the top BME departments in the U.S.

While at Georgia Tech, you led the creation of its hugely popular online Master of Science in computer science (OMSCS). Is this a model other schools should explore? 

I believe universities—and in particular the very top ones—should provide more affordable distance learning. Without it they fail to fulfill their educational mission. Their admittance is limited to a miniscule percentage of applicants though many potential students are as good–Georgia Tech accepts approximately 80% of the applicants to its online program. Tuition, even in state universities, is prohibitively high and has led to $1.7 trillion student debt; the cost of our degree is under $7,000. This spring, the program enrolled 16,100 students, from 120 countries. So far 13,500 students have graduated. Apparently it is the largest degree program in the world in any subject online or not. Forbes described our program as the best degree program ever. We serve a large pool of non-traditional students. In fact, a majority of our students would not have pursued an advanced degree if not for OMSCS. More than 30 universities have followed Georgia Tech with over 50 highly affordable MOOC-based online programs. We have proven that it is possible to have online teaching of high quality for a lower price that is comparable to that of on-campus learning.

What are you up to these days? Still running marathons?

I ran about 20 marathons in the 1980s and 1990s–those were great fun– until I tore a meniscus! I love challenges, physical and mental. Professionally, after stepping down as dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing in 2019, I returned to the classroom. I enjoy teaching new generations of students, and I also serve as an ambassador for our online program. I have already given 121 talks in 18 countries; two in Japan this month and more are coming up.

As someone who has had a front-row seat to engineering’s evolution through the years, what excites you about what’s to come?

The evolution of engineering spans millennia, and present developments are ever more rapid. From artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual-reality technologies to biomedical engineering — much was unattainable a century ago and is now operational and reshaping our lives. Engineering continues to hold great promise and potential to benefit humanity.

Lead Photo Caption: Zvi Galil served as dean of Columbia Engineering from 1995-2007 and chaired the Department of Computer Science from 1989-1994. 

Lead Photo Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Tech College of Computing