Alex Milowski helps SFSU students stay ahead of the curve

You could say Alex Milowski (MS ’04, Mathematics) has always stayed ahead of the curve – and his career makes a strong case.

A glance at his bio reveals a researcher, developer, entrepreneur, mathematician and computer scientist. Since the early 1990s, he has helped shape web and semantic technologies, focusing on machine learning, natural language processing, data representation, algorithms and large-scale data systems. Along the way, he has founded and funded multiple companies and contributed to industry leaders including Stitch Fix, Redis, and Orange.

Earlier in his career, he was an invited expert to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Alex collaborated with Tim Berners-Lee – widely regarded as the inventor of the World Wide Web – and many others. That trajectory is especially striking considering his roots in a small, frigid town in northern Minnesota, where temperatures regularly drop to –40°F and automakers test vehicles under extreme conditions.

Today, Alex is widely recognized for his expertise in XML technologies, the semantic web and machine learning – fields that underpin the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence.

But being ahead of the curve, for Alex, also means investing in those who follow. In 2024, after many previous years of donations to San Francisco State University, Alex established an endowed scholarship at SFSU. Building on that commitment, he recently funded the Milowski Data Science and Machine Learning Summer Scholars program – an 8-week, faculty-mentored research experience designed to meet the growing demand for AI-driven skills.

The program gives students across the College of Science & Engineering (CoSE) hands-on experience applying data science and machine learning to real-world problems at scale. Participants also engage in weekly professional development, including networking and presentation training, to prepare for future careers.

“Technology and the application of machine learning are changing at an ever-increasing pace, and our research and academic pursuits need to evolve alongside it,” Alex says. “I wanted to bring data science and machine learning together for aspiring researchers and practitioners. Data science asks the questions; machine learning helps answer them. They naturally complement each other and should be pursued together.”

“I wanted to bring data science and machine learning together for aspiring researchers and practitioners. Data science asks the questions; machine learning helps answer them. They naturally complement each other and should be pursued together.”

—Alex Milowski (M.S. ’04)

That vision becomes reality this summer. Graduate students Serena Chang and Matthew Bush will serve as the program’s inaugural scholars. Working with Biology Professor Andrea Swei, Serena will study how mountain lions influence tick populations and the risk of tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease. Matthew, collaborating with Mathematics Professor Tao He, will conduct research to develop a non-invasive system to analyze human gait using floor vibration sensing – research that could aid early detection of mobility decline and neurological disorders.

“We are thrilled to launch the inaugural Milowski Data Science and Machine Learning Summer Scholars Program,” says CoSE Dean Carmen Domingo, PhD. “Providing funded summer research puts students on a path toward career success. Many of our students would otherwise take unrelated summer jobs to cover expenses. This program allows them to advance their research, strengthen their skills and better prepare for a competitive job market. Alex has provided a wonderful example of the impact an alumnus can have on our students.”

“This program allows them to advance their research, strengthen their skills and better prepare for a competitive job market. Alex has provided a wonderful example of the impact an alumnus can have on our students.”

—CoSE Dean Carmen Domingo, Ph.D.

Serena is grateful for the research opportunity that awaits her this summer. “I am really honored to have been nominated by Dr. Swei and selected for the Milowski Data Science and Machine Learning Summer Scholars program,” she says. “Support from this program gives me the opportunity to make concerted efforts to expand my experience and skills with data science and machine learning approaches. I am confident this will make me a better researcher as I develop my career in disease ecology.

“Plus, I am excited to work to answer my research question of how top predators impact Lyme disease transmission risk using a machine learning model approach that's new to me. I find both the topic and effort to develop my computational skills really engaging. I believe participation in this program will make me a stronger candidate for PhD programs in the 2027-28 academic year, which I hope will be the next step in my career path to becoming a professor of biology with a focus in disease ecology and One Health.”

Alex’s path to this moment began early. While still in high school, he started taking college courses and quickly developed a reputation as a skilled programmer. He paid his way through the University of Minnesota by writing software – first for the student newspaper, then for the university’s computing department – before moving into private industry, where he built large-scale print production systems for a large financial printing company. That unique experience introduced him to SGML and the precursors of the Web.

His curiosity soon drew him into the early days of Gopher, a pre-Web internet protocol for organizing and retrieving information. He became an expert in early Web technologies, launched a consulting company around it and eventually sold that company to a startup. That opportunity brought him to San Francisco – and ultimately to SFSU, where he earned his master’s degree in Mathematics before continuing on to a PhD in Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.

His experience at SFSU left a lasting impression. Inspired by the opportunities the university provides its students, he established the Alex Milowski Scholarship in Mathematics in 2010 and endowed it in 2024.

Now living near campus, Alex regularly attends CoSE events to connect with students and see their work firsthand, including serving as a judge at the recent CoSE Student Project Showcase.

“One thing I enjoy about coming to events is seeing the breadth of student work,” he says. “They’re articulate, excited, and deeply engaged in their research. It’s a clear reflection of what San Francisco State is doing well.”

“One thing I enjoy about coming to events is seeing the breadth of student work. They’re articulate, excited, and deeply engaged in their research. It’s a clear reflection of what San Francisco State is doing well.”

—Alex Milowski (M.S. ’04)

Through his philanthropy – made possible by a lifelong passion for programming, data science and innovation – Alex is opening doors for the next generation. His goal is simple: to help SFSU students not just keep up with change, but stay ahead of it.