Dr. Ahmed Elmagarmid is the founding Executive Director of Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), a national research institute and member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development; an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University (US); and a former chief scientist at Hewlett-Packard HQ in Palo Alto, CA.
Leading QCRI since 2010, Dr. Elmagarmid has driven the institute’s vision to bring positive impact to citizens and society by focusing on large-scale computing challenges that address national priorities for growth and development. He actively participates in many Qatar strategic initiatives, including serving on the board of directors for Sidra Medicine, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and MEEZA, a leading national/regional cloud provider.
Under Dr. Elmagarmid’s guidance, Qatar’s widely lauded National Artificial Intelligence Strategy was developed at QCRI. Notably, he also founded the National Cyber Security Research Lab (NCSRL), which functions in an advisory capacity to Qatar’s government with the aim of transforming Qatar into a world leader in cybersecurity innovation. In addition, Dr. Elmagarmid has advised the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Transportation and Communication to implement national security and artificial intelligence strategies, respectively.
Recognizing the importance of a healthy society to Qatar’s sustainability, Dr. Elmagarmid is an inaugural board member of the Qatar Personalized Medicine Institute (QPMI); and the Qatar Genome Programme, where he serves as a national committee founding member and supports the organization’s efforts to map the genome of Qatar’s population.
Dr. Elmagarmid is a founder of the Arab Expatriate Scientist Forum and one of the steering committee members who led the effort to establish Qatar Foundation’s three research institutes—QCRI, QBRI, and QEERI. He also serves on the iconic Qatar National Library executive committee, joint advisory board for Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, and the Qatar Academy board of advisors.
While at Purdue University, Dr. Elmagarmid founded and directed the Cyber Center, a well-funded, interdisciplinary center within Discovery Park at Purdue. He grew the Center from the ground up to eventually receive the largest single grant in Purdue’s history.
He is an accomplished and well-published scientist, authoring six books and more than 180 papers, and has directed several well-funded research programs. Dr. Elmagarmid has also been granted eight patents in the database field from USPTO and developed several software systems that have since become startups. Moreover, he has chaired and served on more than 70 technical committees and editorial boards. Among his many accolades, in 2020, Dr. Elmagarmid was chosen to serve on the Washington Institute (WI) for Business, Government, and Society’s Council of Advisors and selected as a WI Distinguished Fellow for Innovation and Technology.
Dr. Elmagarmid is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator (PYI) Award from President Reagan and is an IEEE, ACM, and AAAS Fellow. The University of Dayton and The Ohio State University have both named him among their distinguished alumni. Dr. Elmagarmid received his B.S. in computer science from the University of Dayton (1977) and his M.S. (1981) and Ph.D. (1985) from The Ohio State University.
