Steven Skiena is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Computer Science and Director of Stony Brook University's Institute for AI-Driven Discovery and Innovation. His research interests include the design of graph, string, and geometric algorithms, and their applications (particularly to biology). He is the author of five books, including "The Algorithm Design Manual" and "Calculated Bets: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win". He is co-founder and Chief Scientist at General Sentiment (www.generalsentiment.com), a media measurement company based on his Lydia text/sentiment analysis system.

Skiena received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois in 1988, and the author of over 130 technical papers.