Giannakis is internationally known for his work in the areas of statistical signal processing, distributed estimation using sensor networks, wireless communications and cross-layer network designs, on topics such as auto-regressive moving average system identification using higher-order statistics,[1][2] principal component filter banks,[3] linear precoding,[4] multicarrier modulation,[5] ultra-wideband communications,[6] cognitive radios, and smart grids.

Seminal work includes the development of linear precoding wireless communication systems,[4] which provided a unified approach for designing space–time block codes that achieve data high rates and reliability, and proposal of zero-padding as an alternative to the cyclic prefix for multi-carrier communication systems,[7] which had impact in the multi-band ultra wide band standard.

Born in Piraeus and raised in Corinth, Greece, Giannakis received his MEng in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 1981, his M.Sc.

As a professor, he built a distinguished research group making contributions in many areas including statistical signal processing, wireless communications, sensor and mobile ad hoc networks and data analytics.

[15] In 2019, he was the winner of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Signal Processing "Norbert Wiener" Society Award;[16] he was also named Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI);[17] and won the IEEE Communications Society Education Award.

[28] In Thomson Reuters "World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds" he ranks at the top 300 from all fields of Engineering, Informatics, and Computer Science.