Michael Dinitz

Michael Dinitz is an associate professor of computer science with a secondary appointment in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. He is also a member of the Johns Hopkins Algorithms and Complexity group. An expert in theoretical computer science, he is known for his research on approximation algorithms, online algorithms, distributed algorithms, and the theory of networking.

His work ranges from the purely theoretical to applications of theory, with a focus on computer networking and distributed systems as well as applications in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Much of his theoretical work has centered on approximation algorithms—particularly problems involving distances, such as graph spanners and related objects. He has also worked extensively on other types of network design problems, as well as distributed algorithms and processes. His more practical work has included data center topology design, resilient routing in overlay networks, fast optimization algorithms using machine-learned advice, and other optimization problems motivated by practice.

Dinitz’s research has been published numerous times in leading conferences and journals and has been supported by a number of NSF grants, including a CRII grant, an Algorithms in the Field grant, and multiple Algorithmic Foundations grants. He is the recipient of an International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems Best Paper Award, an International Symposium on Distributed Computing Best Paper Award, and the university’s Professor Joel Dean Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes faculty members who have exhibited extraordinary performance in teaching undergraduates. As a graduate student, he was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and an Achievement Rewards for College Scientists scholarship. He is currently an associate editor for ACM Transactions on Algorithms and has served on the program committees of many computer science theory conferences.

He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science from Princeton University in 2005 and his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in 2010. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins as an assistant professor in 2014, he spent four years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.