Prof. Barry Smyth holds the Digital Chair of Computer Science in University College Dublin and is a Director of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics. He is a Fellow of the European Coordinating Committee on Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI) since 2003 and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy since 2011. In 2014 Barry was awarded an Honrary Doctor of Technology (Hons. D.Tech) from Robert Gordon University in the UK. Barry was the Director of the Clarity Centre for Sensor Web Technologies (2008 - 2013) and has previously held the position of Head of School for the School of Computer Science and Informatics in UCD.

Barry's research interests fall within the field Artificial Intelligence and include case-based reasoning, machine learning, recommender systems, user modeling and personalization. Since 1992 he pas published over 400 peer-reviewed papers. Barry's research has attracted more than 13,000 citations. He has a h-index of 58 and he has received more than 20 best paper awards for his work. In 2014 he was named the SFI Researcher of the Year. Barry's research interests extend beyond the laboratory and over years he has established a track-record for successfully translating his research into commercial opportuities. In 2006 he was a finalist in the Earnst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2012 he received the Irish Software Associations inaugural award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. 

Barry is also a successful entrepreneur. In 1999 he co-founded ChangingWorlds based on his personalization research and helped grow the company to more than 150 employees before it was acquired for $60m in 2008. In 2008 he co-founded HeyStaks based on his social search research. He has helped HeyStaks to raise more than €3m in venture capital funding to date and continues to advise the company on its technology and market strategy. Barry is actively involved in the Irish startup scene as an advisor and investor and he serves on the boards of a number of local startups. He is also a member of the Irish Times Trust.