H.E. Íñigo de Palacio (left) delivers the medal of Knight Officer of the Royal Order of Civil Merit to Prof. Marcos López de Prado (right)
H.E. Íñigo de Palacio (left) delivers the medal of Knight Officer of the Royal Order of Civil Merit to Prof. Marcos López de Prado (right)
Stanford Professor Steven Chu, Nobel Prize in Physics (left), and Stanford Professor Guido Imbens, Nobel Prize in Economics (right), with Professor Marcos López de Prado
One of Spain’s Highest Honors Conferred on Professor Marcos for Distinguished Services to Science and Global Investment Industry
Khalifa University of Science and Technology today announced Professor Marcos López de Prado, Mathematics department, and ADIA Lab scientist and Advisory Board member, has received the Officer’s Cross and diploma of the Royal Order of Civil Merit, one of Spain’s highest honors, from His Majesty King Felipe VI and the Government of Spain.
The award was presented at the investiture ceremony held in Abu Dhabi on 21 November 2024 by H.E. Íñigo de Palacio España, Ambassador of Spain to the United Arab Emirates. The honor recognizes Professor López de Prado’s ‘distinguished services to science and the global investment industry.’
His Majesty the King of Spain is the Grand Master of the Order, and Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is its Grand Chancellor. Knights and Dames of the Order are appointed for their outstanding service to society and include heads of state, royalty, diplomats, scientists, artists, as well as government, business, political, religious and military leaders.
In his remarks at the investiture ceremony, Ambassador de Palacio highlighted Professor López de Prado’s extraordinary contributions, including his pivotal role in founding ADIA Lab and establishing its collaboration agreement with the Kingdom of Spain, which has fostered a robust scientific exchange between Spain and the UAE. The Ambassador also commended Professor López de Prado for elevating and enriching Spain’s image abroad.
Professor López de Prado has been a driving force in the modernization of finance over the past 25 years, pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that are now widely adopted at some of the world’s largest investment firms—an achievement recognized with multiple international awards. He is Global Head of Quantitative Research and Development at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Professor of Practice at Khalifa University’s Department of Mathematics, a Research Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (U.S. Office of Science), and Professor of Practice at Cornell University’s School of Engineering, where he teaches machine learning.
Ambassador de Palacio said: “Ranked among the top 10 most-read authors in economics globally by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and having advised the U.S. Congress on AI policy, Marcos’ work spans science, industry and public service. The Royal Order of Civil Merit acknowledges not only his scientific and professional accomplishments, but also the lasting social impact of his work, which has strengthened international cooperation and deepened ties between nations.”
His Excellency Professor Ebrahim Al Hajri, President of Khalifa University, said: “Professor López de Prado, a globally acclaimed authority on the application of artificial intelligence in investment strategies, enriches our faculty with unmatched expertise and experience. His knighthood stands as a tribute to the transformative societal impact of his academic achievements. Khalifa University is privileged to have him among its esteemed scholars and looks forward to the pioneering contributions he will undoubtedly continue to make in the field.”
Professor López de Prado, said: “As both a professor and a fund manager, I have worked for the past 25 years to advance our field, developing AI algorithms that make investing more evidence-based, systematic, and reliable. I hope this accolade draws further attention to the financial applications of AI and supercomputing, which benefit society by enabling better decision-making and public policy design. I am grateful to ADIA for the opportunity to apply my scientific work towards achieving its long-term investment objectives.
“I would not have earned this highly coveted distinction without the unwavering support of my family, friends, and countless colleagues, many of whom are here with me today. This knighthood is also for them, and I will wear its insignia in their name with pride, and with profound gratitude towards His Majesty King Felipe VI.”
Among the attendees at the ceremony were several renowned scientists, including: Prof. Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate in Physics (1997) and former U.S. Secretary of Energy (2009-2013); Prof. Dan Shechtman, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2011); Prof. Shafi Goldwasser, recipient of the Turing Award (2012) and the Gödel Prize (1993, 2001); Prof. Guido Imbens, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2021); Prof. Jack Dongarra, Turing Award (2021); Prof. Miguel Hernán, Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics (2022); Prof. Horst Simon, Gordon Bell Prize (1998, 2009); Dr. Edward Jung, former Chief Architect of Microsoft Corp. Institutional representatives included: H.E. Carme Artigas, Co-Chair of the United Nations AI Advisory Body; H.E. Sultan Al Mansoori, former Minister of Economy of the UAE; H.E. Félix Barrio Juárez, Managing Director of Spain’s National Cybersecurity Institute; H.E. Prof. Enrique Herrera Viedma, Vice-President for Research of the University of Granada; H.E. Antoine Delcourt, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the UAE; H.E. Robert Lauer, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the UAE.
Dr. Marcos López de Prado has published approximately 100 scientific articles on AI and statistical inference in the leading academic journals, is a founding co-editor of The Journal of Financial Data Science, and the author of influential graduate textbooks used by universities worldwide. He holds 15 patents, several of which have been purchased and licensed by some of the largest institutional investors worldwide to manage multibillion-dollar funds.
In recognition of his work, Professor López de Prado has received various scientific and industry awards, including the National Award for Academic Excellence (1999) by the Kingdom of Spain, the Quant Researcher of the Year Award (2019) by Portfolio Management Research, the Buy-Side Quant of the Year Award (2021) by Risk.net, and the Bernstein Fabozzi / Jacobs Levy Award (2024) by The Journal of Portfolio Management.
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