Rihards Novickis

Dr. Rihards Novickis is a leading researcher at the Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (EDI), head of the Integrated Circuits and Systems (ICS) Laboratory, and chair of the Scientific Council. Rihards joined EDI in 2016 as part of the Biometrics Research Group. He established the EDI Single-Chip System Research Group, which became a separate laboratory in 2024. Rihards has graduated from Riga Technical University (Riga, Latvia), where he obtained a PhD in electronics in 2022. In 2018, he received a letter of recognition from the Latvian Academy of Sciences for one of the most notable achievements in Latvian science – an original approach to transforming artificial neural network architectures into programmable logic array structures. Rihards has been involved in many international European Union projects as an executor, technical development manager, and coordinator.

Rihards considers himself a systems architect, whose work relies on intuition as much as technical knowledge. His research laboratory is investigating how to improve and incorporate into digital circuits various algorithms that have previously only existed in software format. The main goal of Rihards' research is to create new computing concepts and approaches, thereby promoting the sustainable development of our society. The research group's skills and experience have enabled it to identify three main areas of research: (1) development of next-generation sensors; (2) artificial intelligence in heterogeneous single-chip systems; and (3) computing accelerators and their integration.

In his free time, Rihards watches old movies, enjoys music of various genres, and studies its history. He is seriously involved in squash, where he still dreams of beating Latvia's top player.