Tolga Birdal

Tolga Birdal is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at Imperial College London's Department of Computing, leading the CIRCLE research group. He holds affiliations with the Artificial Intelligence Network, Visual Computing, and the Department of Computing. His research focuses on topological deep learning, geometric machine learning, and 3D computer vision, with applications in drug discovery and non-Euclidean spaces.

Education:

• PhD in Computer Science, Technical University of Munich (2014-2018)
• MSc in Computer Science, Technical University of Munich (2008-2011)
• BSc in Computer Engineering, Sabancı University (2004-2008)

Research Interests: Birdal investigates limits in geometric computing and non-Euclidean inference, developing topological methods for deep learning. His work bridges algebraic topology, differential geometry, and deep neural networks. Current projects include UNTOLD (EPSRC), a foundational study in topological deep learning, and drug discovery initiatives funded by the Royal Society.

Awards & Grants:

• UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2024)
• EMVA Young Professional Award (2018)
• PI/Co-PI on projects totaling £multi-million across EPSRC, Royal Society, and industry partnerships

Advisees & Labs: He leads the CIRCLE group at Imperial College, fostering interdisciplinary research in geometric and topological AI. Prior roles include Postdoc at Stanford University (Guibas Group) and Research Scientist at Hover (USA).