Aris Athanasios “Thanos” Panagopoulos is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and founder and director of the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems (AIIS) Laboratory at California State University, Fresno. His research focuses on human-centered intelligent systems and artificial intelligence for social good, with applications in education, digital history preservation, computational sustainability, smart cities and buildings, transportation, precision agriculture, and scientific discovery. He is also committed to educating future generations of computing professionals and contributing to public dialogue on the societal implications of artificial intelligence.

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His research interests include machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, optimization, reinforcement learning, control theory, and multi-agent systems, as well as the broader socioeconomic implications of AI-driven systems. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on interdisciplinary, multi-million-dollar initiatives supported by organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), California Energy Commission (CEC), California Learning Lab, CAHSI–Google, and the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI). He has collaborated with industry partners including Siemens, Microsoft Research, and BMW North America, as well as scientific collaborations including the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). He is also a five-time Farms Food Future (F3) Initiative Fellow.

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His work has appeared in venues including AAAI, AAMAS, and Expert Systems with Applications. He is a recipient of Fresno State’s Provost’s Teaching Award. He served as an elected member of the University Academic Senate from 2021 to 2026 and has served on program committees for conferences including AAAI, ECAI, IJCAI, and EUMAS. He is a member of the Authors Guild and CAHSI.

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He is the author of Rage Against the Autonomous Machine: The Dialectics of Artificial Intelligence and How to Survive the AI Revolution (CRC Press, 2026), an interdisciplinary study of artificial intelligence, political economy, automation, and technological power.

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Before joining Fresno State, Panagopoulos spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southampton, UK, in 2016, and holds an Integrated Master’s Degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering from the Technical University of Crete, Greece.