About
Prof. Dr. Adam Kurpisz is a Tenure Track Professor in Operations Research at Bern Business School. Prior to this role, he was working at renowned institutions, including the Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik in Germany, Université Paris Sorbonne in France, Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull’Intelligenza Artificiale, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, where he maintains a secondary affiliation. His primary research emphasis is on the development of innovative algorithmic solutions for complex optimization problems with a focus on various applications to the financial sector, especially to sustainable portfolio optimization. His research endeavors have been supported by multiple grants, such as the prestigious SNF Ambizione grant. He is the author of 18 peer-reviewed conference papers and 11 journal papers, collectively cited 324 times. Beyond his own publishing, he has contributed to the scientific community by reviewing for over 19 academic journals and conferences and for grant agencies such as the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) in the Netherlands and Grantová agentura České republiky (GACR) in the Czech Republic. Bridging academia and industry, he has successfully applied his knowledge in collaborative research projects with industrial partners, including swissQuant Group AG. Additionally, he provides his scientific expertise as a consultant for two startups he co-founded and has guided them to the world finals of numerous pitching competitions, including 5th place among 1000 participants in the MassChallenge Switzerland. Furthermore, he played a key role in securing over 5 million euros for these startups, co-authoring two successful EU Fast Track grant applications.
Key Achievements and Outputs
-Co-main PI of FAST TRACK, European Regional Development Fund under Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014-2020, EU, 3’275’680 CHF,
-Co-main PI of FAST TRACK, European Regional Development Fund under Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014-2020, EU, 1’885’200 CHF,
-PI AMBIZIONE, Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland, 540’620 CHF,
-Co-main PI OPUS grant, The National Science Center, Poland, ≈114’626 CHF, -PI NMS-CH (SCIEX) Scientific Exchange Programme, Switzerland, 50’000 CHF,
-PI ETIUDA grant, The National Science Center, Poland, ≈20’000 CHF,
-cofounder of Silencions, a hi-tech startup aiming for cutting-edge technology for acoustics,
-cofounder of deeptale.ai generative AI in computer vision for children's books,
-Top finalist MassChallenge Switzerland. Place 1-12 out of 1000, -World finalist ClimateLaunchpad, Limassol, Cyprus,
-Winner of MIT Enterprise Forum Poland.
Research Interests
His research interests are focused on Combinatorial Optimization problems both from the perspective of constructing efficient algorithms and proving complexity bounds. The core of his research is applying methods from Real Algebraic Geometry to construct and analyze Semi-algebraic Proof Systems that, in turn, provide unified algorithmic frameworks (e.g., Sum-of-Squares algorithm). To prove the strength and limitations of such Semi-algebraic Proof Systems, he use various techniques from Linear Algebra, Fourier Analysis of Boolean Functions, and Approximation Theory. During his PhD time, he was working on Robust Optimization, and this topic stays close to his heart. In his free time, he enjoys exploring random walks in graphs. The applications of his research span Machine Learning, especially Computer Vision and Finance, with a focus on sustainable portfolio optimization.