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Mark SchmidtView profile

Professor

• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Mathematical Optimization
• +6 more

Mark Schmidt is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Science. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Large-Scale Machine Learning and is a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. His research spans multiple centers including CAIDA (Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making and Action), the Data Science Institute, and the Machine Intelligence Learning Discovery (MILD) group. Dr. Schmidt's educational background includes a Ph.D. from UBC (2005-2010), an M.Sc. from the University of Alberta (2003-2005), and a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta (2000-2003). His academic career progressed from Postdoc positions at Simon Fraser University, Ecole Normale Superieure, and UBC to Assistant Professor (2014-2019), Associate Professor (2019-2024), and current Professor (2024-present) at UBC. His research focuses on machine learning optimization, with particular emphasis on improving numerical algorithms for large-scale machine learning applications. His work bridges theoretical optimization and practical applications across computer vision, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning. He has developed numerous optimization techniques including variants of stochastic gradient methods, coordinate descent algorithms, and natural gradient approaches. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on optimization for over-parameterized models, particularly transformers and large language models. His work addresses critical challenges in step-size selection, convergence guarantees, and efficient implementation of optimization algorithms. His research has significant implications for training deep neural networks more effectively and understanding why certain optimization methods outperform others in practice. Among his notable awards are the Dorothy Killam Fellowship (2025), Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship (2024), Sloan Research Fellowship (2017), and multiple UBC teaching awards. He has also received the Lagrange Prize in Continuous Optimization and Best Paper Award at AISTATS 2021. Dr. Schmidt actively supervises numerous graduate students, with over 40 PhD and Master's students listed as current or alumni members of his research group. His laboratory maintains strong connections with industry partners, with many alumni securing positions at leading AI companies including Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.

Kyros KutulakosView profile

Professor

• Computational Imaging
• Computer Vision
• 3D Sensing
• +9 more

Kyros Kutulakos is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, where he leads research in computational imaging and 3D sensing. His affiliations include the Toronto Computational Imaging Group, Computer Vision Group, Dynamic Graphics Project (DGP), and Vector Institute Group. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses such as CSC320 (Introduction to Visual Computing) and CSC2530 (Computational Imaging & 3D Sensing). His research interests span computational imaging, non-line-of-sight imaging, single-photon detectors, 3D sensing, and neural rendering. Notable contributions include advancements in structured-light imaging, time-of-flight systems, and super-oscillatory microscopy. He has advised numerous PhD and MSc students, fostering cutting-edge research in imaging technologies. Kutulakos has received prestigious awards, including the Dean’s Research Excellence Award (2023) and multiple best paper prizes (e.g., Marr Prize at ICCV 2023). He has served as program chair for ICCV 2013, ICCP 2010, and CVPR 2003, contributing to academic leadership in computer vision. His work bridges optics, photonics, and computation, with applications in autonomous systems, medical imaging, and astronomy. Current research focuses on extreme imaging scenarios, such as imaging in pitch-black environments and around corners, leveraging novel sensor designs and computational techniques.

Hassan Qudrat-UllahView profile

Professor

• Sustainability
• Global/Climate Change
• System Dynamics
• +3 more

Dr. Hassan Qudrat-Ullah is a Professor at the School of Administrative Studies, York University, and Coordinator of the Certificate in Logistics Management. He holds a PhD in Decision Sciences from NUS Business School and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on dynamic decision making, system dynamics modeling, energy planning, and interactive learning environments. He teaches courses on quantitative methods, logistics, and decision analysis, informed by global industry experience across 20+ countries. Research interests include sustainability, climate change, systems thinking, and educational applications of decision sciences. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Complexity in Applied Science and Technology and is a member of IEEE, DSI, and the International System Dynamics Society. His work has been published in Energy , Decision Support Systems , and others. Key projects include studies on 'structured-debriefing in dynamic decision making' and renewable energy policies in Africa. His recent articles (2023–2025) address AI integration in energy governance, system dynamics for supply chain resilience, and education for sustainability. Hassan advocates for systems thinking in K-12 education and enjoys traveling (visited 129 countries) and bird-watching.

Alan RitterView profile

Associate Professor

• Natural Language Processing
• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• +4 more

Alan Ritter is an Associate Professor at the School of Interactive Computing , Georgia Institute of Technology, with additional affiliation to the Machine Learning Center . His research focuses on Natural Language Processing , particularly robust models across domains/languages with fewer labels and efficient resource use, plus data-driven dialogue agents for open-topic conversations. Research Interests : Robust NLP models, cross-lingual transfer, resource-efficient learning, dialogue systems, cultural bias measurement, and privacy-aware language models Students : Mentors Ph.D. students in Georgia Tech's ML and CS programs, including Junmo Kang, Yang Chen, and Duong Minh Le. Alumni include Fan Bai (Ph.D. 2023), Yang Chen (Ph.D. 2024), and Andrew Li (M.S. 2024). Awards : NSF CAREER Award, Amazon Research Award, ACL 2024 Best Social Impact Paper, IUI 2009 Best Student Paper. Recent Work : Studies training budget allocation between supervised and preference-based finetuning, cross-lingual information extraction, cultural bias in LLMs, and privacy risk mitigation in social media disclosures. Service : Served as Program Chair for NAACL 2025, Area Chair for multiple top-tier conferences (COLM, EMNLP, ACL, EACL, AAAI). Email : alan.ritter@cc.gatech.edu

Aishwarya AgrawalView profile

Assistant Professor

• Multimodal learning
• Deep learning
• Natural language processing
• +3 more

Aishwarya Agrawal is an Assistant Professor at Université de Montréal in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research (DIRO), affiliated with Mila – Quebec Institute of Artificial Intelligence and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair. She also serves as a research scientist at Google DeepMind, spending one day weekly there. Education: B.E. in Electrical Engineering (IIT Gandhinagar, 2014), Ph.D. in Computer Science (Georgia Tech, 2019). Her research focuses on multimodal learning , deep learning , natural language processing , and computer vision , particularly in developing AI systems that 'see' and 'communicate' effectively. Grants & Awards: Canada CIFAR AI Chair, 2020 Sigma Xi Best PhD Thesis Award, NVIDIA Fellowship (2018–2019), and multiple fellowships from Google and Facebook. She leads projects like Advancing Multimodal Vision-Language Learning (CRSNG-funded) and StarDoc: Document Structure Extraction (MITACS). Research Contributions: Pioneered benchmarks like CulturalVQA and UI-Vision , and frameworks such as PROGRESS for efficient VLM training. Her work emphasizes cross-modal alignment, robust evaluation, and cultural understanding in AI systems. Labs/Teams: Active in Mila’s core academic group and collaborates with Google DeepMind on multimodal and vision-language research. Supervises a dynamic team of PhD and master’s students in Montreal.

LK BertramView profile

Associate Professor

• Sex Work History
• Social Media Algorithms
• Public History
• +9 more

LK Bertram is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto, specializing in 19th-century North American history with a focus on migration, gender, sexuality, and colonialism. Her work bridges academic research and public engagement, particularly through social media algorithms (TikTok, Instagram) for combating digital disinformation. Clio Prize-winning author (2020) 2022 SSHRC Insight Grant recipient Public history campaign curator (9 million+ views) Her research spans colonial institutions, sex work economies, and material culture, with publications on Icelandic diaspora, Arctic militarization, and immigrant food traditions. She teaches courses like HIS199 History and Social Media and HIS417 Histories of Sex Work , emphasizing hands-on learning via exhibitions and artifact workshops. Recent projects explore how social media algorithms can amplify quality historical data, including the viral @socialforscholars initiative. Her work connects historical narratives to contemporary debates on disinformation, cultural appropriation, and legal frameworks.

• Machine Learning
• Deep Learning
• Gaussian Processes
• +5 more

Geoffrey Pleiss is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Science. He is also a CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute and an inaugural member of CAIDA's AIM-SI (AI Methods for Scientific Impact) cluster. His work bridges statistical theory, machine learning, and computational methods with applications across various scientific domains. Pleiss received his PhD from the Computer Science department at Cornell University in 2020, where he was advised by Kilian Weinberger and worked closely with Andrew Gordon Wilson. Prior to his faculty position at UBC, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University with John P. Cunningham. His research focuses on the intersection of deep learning and probabilistic modeling, particularly on developing heuristic and approximate notions of uncertainty from machine learning models. His work has significant implications for reliable and optimal decision-making in experimental design and scientific discovery. Major research thrusts include neural network uncertainty quantification, Bayesian optimization, Gaussian processes, and ensemble methods. Pleiss develops theoretical frameworks while maintaining strong connections to practical applications across scientific domains. An analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on uncertainty quantification in deep learning models, with particular attention to the limitations and capabilities of ensemble methods in the era of overparameterized models. His work increasingly addresses practical challenges in Bayesian optimization for scientific discovery, especially in materials science. There's also a growing emphasis on computational efficiency in Gaussian process methods, reflecting his commitment to making advanced statistical techniques accessible for real-world applications. CIFAR AI Chair Pleiss currently advises several graduate students including Donney Fan (PhD, Computer Science), Tim G. Zhou (MSc, Computer Science), Zachary Lau (MSc, Statistics), Nathan Cantafio (BSc, Statistics), and Tristan Cinquin (Research Intern at Vector Institute). His research is supported by multiple funding sources including his CIFAR AI Chair position, which provides significant research resources for advancing machine learning methodologies with scientific impact. Pleiss co-created and maintains GPyTorch, a highly efficient and modular implementation of Gaussian processes in PyTorch designed for speed, modularity, and prototyping. He is also involved with CoLA (Compositional Linear Algebra), a library for structured linear algebra operations in JAX and PyTorch that enables fast linear algebra computations by automatically exploiting matrix structure.

• Operations Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Sharing Economy
• +6 more

Ming Hu is a Professor and University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Business Operations and Analytics at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He serves as Area Coordinator for the Operations Management & Statistics Area and holds editorial leadership roles including Editor-in-Chief of Naval Research Logistics and Associate Editor for multiple top journals. MS in Applied Mathematics, Brown University (2003) PhD in Operations Research, Columbia University (2009) His research focuses on sharing economy , social operations , and platform economics , examining how operational decisions can maximize societal benefit. Key areas include crowdfunding , two-sided markets , crowdsourcing , and group buying , with applications to DEI , sustainability , and AI-empowered operations . Recent work analyzes spatial operations in delivery systems, algorithmic fairness , and climate change adaptation in agricultural supply chains. His publications span top journals like Management Science and Operations Research , covering topics from blockchain traceability to quantum-inspired optimization . Scientific recognitions include: Wickham Skinner Early-Career Research Award (2016) Best Operations Management Paper in Management Science (2017) 2018 Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors As an Amazon Scholar (2022–) and Chair of Chain Analytics Institute (2023–), he bridges academic research with industry applications in AI-driven logistics and sustainable operations.

Mark CrowleyView profile

Associate Professor

• Reinforcement Learning
• Deep Learning
• Manifold Learning
• +12 more

Mark Crowley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo, with a cross-appointment in the Cheriton School of Computer Science. He is a member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (WAII) and the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI), and serves as National Secretary of the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association (CAIAC). His educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, where he worked in the Laboratory for Computational Intelligence, and a B.A. in Computer Science from York University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Oregon State University working with Tom Dietterich's machine learning group. Crowley's research focuses on developing dependable and transparent algorithms to augment human decision-making in complex domains with multiple agents, spatial structure, or uncertainty. His work spans Reinforcement Learning , Deep Learning , Ensemble Methods , and Manifold Learning . He frequently collaborates with researchers in applied fields including Computational Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Autonomous Driving, Medical Imaging, and Material Design. His research is motivated by both theoretical opportunities and real-world challenges such as forest fire management, automotive applications, and medical imaging. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on addressing challenges in reinforcement learning, particularly around observation costs, multi-agent systems, and causal representation learning. His work on ChemGymRL provides a significant contribution to digital chemistry and material design through reinforcement learning frameworks. The textbook Elements of Dimensionality Reduction and Manifold Learning represents a major contribution to the theoretical foundations of machine learning. Crowley actively supervises graduate students, with recent thesis completions including Shayan Shirahmadi Gale Bagi (PhD, Feb 2025) and Oleksandra Nahorna (MASc, Dec 2024). His lab, UWECEML (Waterloo ECE Machine Learning Lab), focuses on developing new algorithms at the intersection of Machine Learning, Optimization, and Probabilistic Modeling. He teaches courses including ECE 457C (Reinforcement Learning), ECE 657A (Data & Knowledge Modelling & Analysis), and ECE 457B (Fundamentals of Computational Intelligence). His blog Computationally Thinking explores AI, machine learning, and the societal impact of these technologies.

Kimon FountoulakisView profile

Associate Professor

• Machine Learning on Graphs
• Numerical Optimization
• Graph Algorithms
• +2 more

Kimon Fountoulakis is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on Machine Learning on Graphs and Numerical Optimization, with a strong emphasis on algorithmic methods for graph-structured data. He holds a Ph.D. from The University of Edinburgh (2015), an M.Sc. from The University of Edinburgh (2010), and a B.Sc. from Athens University of Economics and Business (2009). His work spans theoretical foundations and practical applications in graph algorithms, optimization, and machine learning. Research interests include graph neural networks, local graph clustering algorithms, and algorithmic reasoning. His contributions address challenges in graph representation learning, message-passing architectures, and scalable optimization methods. Notable themes in his publications include improving counting abilities of vision-language models, analyzing graph convolutions, and developing flow-based clustering techniques with statistical guarantees. His work often bridges theory and practice, with applications in network analysis, pandemic containment strategies, and high-performance computing. While no specific grants or awards are listed, his research demonstrates significant contributions to graph-based machine learning and optimization. He maintains a research group at the University of Waterloo, with a focus on developing open-source tools and frameworks for graph algorithms. His lab’s work emphasizes local graph clustering methods and their scalability in real-world networks.

Murat ErdogduView profile

Assistant Professor

• Machine Learning
• High-dimensional Statistics
• Optimization
• +3 more

Murat Erdogdu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed in the Department of Computer Science and Department of Statistical Sciences . He is also a faculty member at the Vector Institute and holds the CIFAR Chair in Artificial Intelligence . PhD in Statistics, Stanford University (advised by Mohsen Bayati and Andrea Montanari) MSc in Computer Science, Stanford University BSc in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, Bogazici University His research focuses on machine learning theory , high-dimensional statistics , and optimization . He has contributed to understanding gradient-based algorithms, sampling methods, and feature learning in structured data. Recent publications address problems in: Heavy-tailed sampling Mean-field Langevin dynamics Robust feature learning Minimax regression Stochastic optimization under infinite noise Scientific Awards: CIFAR Chair in Artificial Intelligence ICLR 2023 Spotlight NeurIPS 2019 & 2021 Spotlights He teaches graduate courses like STA 414/2104 (Statistical Methods for Machine Learning II) and STA 4273 (Modern Learning Theory) , emphasizing probabilistic modeling and theoretical analysis.

• Databases
• Data Mining
• Machine Learning
• +3 more

Ming-Syan Chen is a distinguished academic holding dual roles as a Distinguished Research Fellow and Director of the Research Center for Information Technology Innovation (CITI) at Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and a Distinguished Professor jointly appointed across multiple departments at National Taiwan University (NTU), including Electrical Engineering (EE), Computer Science and Information Engineering (CSIE), and the Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering (GICE). His career spans academia and industry, with prior roles as a research staff member at IBM Watson Research Center and leadership positions in Taiwan's technology sector. Education: He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer, Information, and Control Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Research Interests: Chen's work focuses on databases, data mining, machine learning, multimedia networking, and cloud computing. He has authored over 350 papers and holds numerous patents, contributing to foundational advancements in query processing, data management, and networked systems. Award Highlights: Recipient of ACM and IEEE Fellowships, National Chair Professorship (lifetime honor), Teco Award, Pan Wen Yuan Distinguished Research Award, and IBM's Outstanding Innovation Award. His contributions span research, teaching, and technology commercialization. Leadership & Service: Former Dean of NTU's College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, CEO of Taiwan's Networked Communication Program, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Electrical Engineering. He has chaired international conferences and served on editorial boards of journals like IEEE TKDE and VLDB. Labs & Teams: Leads the Network Database Laboratory and collaborates on national initiatives in information and communication technologies. His research groups focus on data science, distributed systems, and social network analysis.

Florian KerschbaumView profile

Professor

• Data security and privacy
• Confidentiality and integrity in data science
• Applied cryptography
• +4 more

Florian Kerschbaum is a Professor and NSERC/RBC Industrial Research Chair in Data Security at the Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo. His research focuses on data security and privacy, applied cryptography, and confidentiality in data science. Research interests span data collection/preparation management, secure multi-party computation, homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, and machine learning robustness/privacy. His work develops cryptographic solutions for practical data management challenges in distributed systems.

Steven RogakView profile

Professor

• Aerosol Science
• Nanoparticle Transport
• Combustion Processes
• +5 more

Steven Rogak is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Applied Science. He holds a P.Eng. license and degrees including a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from UBC, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Caltech. P.Eng., University of British Columbia B.A.Sc., University of British Columbia M.Sc., Ph.D., California Institute of Technology His research focuses on aerosol science, particularly solid nanoparticles from combustion processes, their climate and health impacts, and mitigation strategies. Key areas include: Soot morphology and transport properties Engine emission reduction via fuel injectors Indoor air filtration systems Membrane-based energy exchangers Atmospheric particulate analysis The 15 most recent articles span experimental and theoretical studies on soot characterization, membrane technologies, and aerosol dynamics, with applications in climate modeling, healthcare ventilation, and sustainable materials. Collaborations include Westport Innovations and interdisciplinary teams. Rogak leads the Aerosol Laboratory at UBC, where he applies fluid mechanics and heat transfer fundamentals to address environmental and health challenges. He emphasizes experimental rigor and welcomes graduate students with expertise in these areas.

Zhenman FangView profile

Associate Professor

• Customizable Computing
• Heterogeneous Computing
• FPGA Acceleration
• +8 more

Dr. Zhenman Fang is an Associate Professor at the School of Engineering Science , Simon Fraser University (SFU) , where he founded and directs the HiAccel Lab . He also holds an associate membership in the School of Computing Science at SFU. His research focuses on customizable computing with software-defined hardware acceleration , addressing performance, energy-efficiency, and reliability in post-Moore’s law computing across domains like machine learning , big data analytics , quantum chemistry , and precision medicine . Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Fudan University (2014), with a visit to University of Minnesota during his studies. Postdoctoral Work: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (2014-2017). Industry Experience: Staff Software Engineer at Xilinx (2017-2019). Dr. Fang’s research spans the entire computing stack , including application characterization , accelerator-rich architecture design , and programming/tool support . He has developed frameworks like HiSpMV , SyncNN , and SQL2FPGA , emphasizing FPGA acceleration for vision transformers , quantum chemistry , and spiking neural networks . His work has been recognized with 3 best paper awards (FPL 2024, TCAD 2019, MEMSYS 2017) and 3 best paper nominees (FCCM 2025, HPCA 2017, ISPASS 2018). Recent publications highlight trends in low-precision machine learning ( ShiftQuant , ESRU ), quantum chemistry acceleration ( SERI ), and vision transformer optimization ( Quasar-ViT ). His HiAccel Lab actively mentors PhD and MASc students , with notable graduates like Alec Lu (PhD 2024, now at Meta) and Philip Stachura (MASc, now with BC Graduate Scholarship). Scientific Awards: Inaugural SFU Research Excellence Award - Horizon Award (2025) FPL 2024 Stamatis Vassiliadis Best Paper NSERC Alliance Award (2020) CFI JELF Award (2019) Xilinx University Program Award (2019) IEEE Senior Member (2023) Grants: NSERC Discovery Grant (2019) CFI JELF Funding (2019) Huawei and Xilinx sponsorships Dr. Fang leads open-source initiatives like SyncNN , PASTA , and SQL2FPGA , and serves as General Chair for ASAP 2025 and Program Co-Chair for RAW 2025 . His lab collaborates globally with institutions such as UCLA , Northeastern University , and Xidian University .