Mihai Pop

Mihai Pop is an MPower Professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. Being named an MPower Professor is a prestigious honor that recognizes, incentivizes and fosters collaborations between faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Pop is co-director of the UMD Center for Excellence in Microbiome Sciences, and was the director of UMIACS from 2018–2025. 

Pop's research covers several areas of bioinformatics, primarily related to the development of computational algorithms for analyzing biological data generated through high-throughput experimental techniques, such as sequencing technologies. His research is driven by the belief that there is a strong connection between computational and biological research, computation being not just a simple tool in the hands of biologists, but an integral component of current biological research.

Pop is passionate about increasing diversity in computer science and academia, and has been a strong advocate for such efforts at the departmental and university-wide level.