Head of Technology
Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis is a Stanford PhD and instructor of Stanford’s first decentralized applications class, CS359B, in 2018. His work focuses on combining distributed systems and human computer interaction to bring cryptocurrency to everyday people.
He started with a BS and MS in Computer Science, which led him to do a Ph.D. at Stanford University and then continue as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Computer Science department there. Through and after his PhD work, Nicolas created an early framework for writing “smart contracts” on fault tolerant distributed systems, and multiple human-focused products including online social applications with over 20M users and a crowd-powered email assistant.
As a strong and long-term believer of the technical, financial and social potential of cryptocurrencies, he is determined to move them beyond their current limitations and is committed to bringing the power of blockchain to more people. With the founding of Pi Network, he aims to accomplish this by improving the current blockchain experience and empowering everyone to create, build and experience the future of online life through a user-centric design philosophy.
