Marcos López de Prado, a visiting professor in Cornell Engineering’s School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, has received the Officer’s Cross of the Royal Order of Civil Merit, which represents a knighthood and one of Spain’s highest honors, in recognition of his “distinguished services to science and the global investment industry.” 

The award was presented on behalf of King Felipe VI and the government of Spain by H.E. Íñigo de Palacio España, the Spanish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 21. Knights and Dames of the Order are appointed for their outstanding service to society. They are rewarded with certain legal privileges, such as a formal style of address, a heraldic achievement, a diploma and the use of insignia of the Order.

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“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,” López de Prado said. “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.”

In addition to his role at Cornell, where he has been teaching financial machine learning and directing student projects in the Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan program since 2015, López de Prado is a research fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and is the Global Head of Quantitative Research and Development at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the largest sovereign wealth funds. He is a founding board member of ADIA Lab, an independent institution engaged in basic and applied research in data science, AI, machine learning and high-performance computing.

“Don Marcos has been a driving force in the modernization of finance, pioneering AI algorithms that are now widely adopted at some of the world’s largest investment firms. He brings a deep reservoir of knowledge and decades of industry experience to the courses he teaches for our M.Eng. students,” said Kathryn Caggiano, associate dean for Master of Engineering Programs. “This knighthood is a testament to the significant social impact of his academic contributions, and we are thrilled to have him as a member of our Cornell academic community.”

The ceremony was attended by several renowned scientists, including Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and economics, and two Turing Award winners, as well as dignitaries from a number of countries. López de Prado said this particular honor — which adds to a long list of achievements and recognitions, including multiple patents and numerous scientific and industry awards — holds special personal and professional significance.

“I would not have earned this highly coveted distinction without the unwavering support of my family, friends and countless colleagues, including those at Cornell,” he said. “This knighthood is also for them, and I will wear its insignia in their name with pride, and with profound gratitude toward His Majesty King Felipe VI.”