Winnie Wong is a Professor of Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on art history, particularly exploring themes of fakes, forgeries, and authorship through interdisciplinary approaches. She examines the global artistic networks of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, challenging Western narratives of Chinese artistic practices. Wong holds a PhD from MIT's History, Theory + Criticism program and was a Harvard Society of Fellows Junior Fellow. Her major works include Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade (2014, Joseph Levenson Prize winner), Learning from Shenzhen (2017), and a forthcoming book on Canton trade portraitists. She teaches courses like Theory of the Copy and Rhetoric of the Image , mentoring undergraduates through the Undergraduate Research Apprentices program and advising PhD students in art history and visual studies. Wong's research has been supported by grants from Mellon Foundation, ACLS, SSRC, and others. Her work has been translated into multiple languages and appears in journals like Current Anthropology and Law & Literature . She frequently discusses her work on podcasts and collaborates with museums including M+ and the Asian Art Museum.
Kaiming He is an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), holding the Douglas Ross (1954) Career Development Professor of Software Technology chair. He also works part-time as a Distinguished Scientist at Google DeepMind. Prior to joining MIT in 2024, he was a research scientist at Facebook AI Research (FAIR) from 2016 to 2024, and a researcher at Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) from 2011 to 2016. Dr. He received his PhD from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011 and his Bachelor of Science from Tsinghua University in 2007. His academic journey reflects a strong foundation in computer science and engineering that has led to transformative contributions in artificial intelligence. His research primarily focuses on computer vision and deep learning, with pioneering work on deep residual networks (ResNets), visual object detection and segmentation, and self-supervised learning. He is best known for his work on Deep Residual Networks (ResNets), recognized as the most-cited paper of the twenty-first century. The residual connections he pioneered are now fundamental components in modern deep learning architectures including Transformers, AlphaGo Zero, AlphaFold, and various generative AI models. His recent publications demonstrate continued innovation across generative models, transformer architectures, and cross-disciplinary AI applications. His work bridges theoretical advances in neural network design with practical implementations that address real-world challenges in physics, biology, and other scientific domains. PAMI Young Researcher Award (2018) Best Paper Award, CVPR (2009, 2016) Best Paper Award, ICCV (2017) Best Student Paper Award, ICCV (2017) Everingham Prize, ICCV (2021) Most-cited paper of the twenty-first century Dr. He advises graduate students including Jake Austin, Xingjian Bai, and Mingyang Deng, and teaches advanced courses such as "6.S978: Deep Generative Models" (Fall 2024) and "6.8300/6.8301: Advances in Computer Vision" (Spring 2024). His research group actively explores how AI can serve as a unifying framework across scientific disciplines, breaking down traditional barriers between fields through shared methodologies and tools.
Jason D. Lee is an associate professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) and Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he held academic positions at Princeton University as an associate professor, and was a research scientist at Google DeepMind. He completed his Ph.D. in Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stanford University under the advisement of Trevor Hastie and Jonathan Taylor. For students and collaborators, his primary contact email is jasonlee@princeton.edu, though prospective students and postdocs are asked to include "filter_student" in the subject line. Ph.D., Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University (2015) B.Sc., Mathematics, Duke University (2010) Lee's research lies at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and optimization, focusing on the theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence. His work addresses fundamental questions in deep learning, including optimization landscapes, representation learning, and reinforcement learning theory. He has made significant contributions to understanding how gradient descent operates in neural network training and has developed provably efficient algorithms for various learning scenarios. His ten most recent publications represent a diverse yet coherent body of work across machine learning theory, focusing on topics such as Gaussian multi-index models, transformer learning capabilities, shallow neural networks, and optimization techniques. These publications appear in top venues including COLT, ICML, NeurIPS, and JMLR. Among his notable accolades are: Samsung AI Researcher of the Year Award (2023) NSF Career Award (2022) ONR Young Investigator Award (2021) Sloan Research Fellow in Computer Science (2019) NIPS Best Student Paper Award (2016) Princeton Commendation for Outstanding Teaching (ECE538B) Lee has advised numerous students including Alex Damian, Wenhao Zhan, Eshaan Nichani, Tianle Cai, Zixuan Wang, and Yunwei Ren. Former advisees have gone on to positions at institutions like NYU Courant, Facebook AI Research, UW, MIT, Duke, and Microsoft Research. His research group and collaborators span multiple institutions, working on theoretical and applied aspects of machine learning and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on the optimization and learning dynamics of neural networks and transformer models.
Russell Epstein is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is affiliated with the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Goddard Labs. His research focuses on neural mechanisms underlying visual scene perception, spatial navigation, and memory. Epstein holds a BA in Physics from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. Epstein’s research interests include high-level vision, spatial cognition, and the neural basis of environmental representations. His lab uses functional MRI and cognitive neuroscience techniques to study how scenes, objects, landmarks, and spaces are encoded in brain systems such as the parahippocampal place area and retrosplenial cortex. Recent work explores cognitive maps, grid-like neural representations, and the role of multisensory cues in navigation. His articles emphasize spatial navigation strategies, hierarchical cognitive maps, and the interplay between perception and memory. Notable contributions include investigations into hippocampal spatial metrics, olfactory navigation, and the neural underpinnings of environmental learning. Epstein teaches courses on cognitive neuroscience, including PSYC 149 and PSYC 600. He advises two graduate students in Psychology and has no listed scientific awards. His work is supported by grants (unspecified) and conducted within collaborative teams at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Epstein’s research extends to labs focused on spatial cognition and neuroimaging, advancing understanding of how humans mentally map environments through visual and sensory integration.
Yingyan (Celine) Lin is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, leading the Efficient and Intelligent Computing (EIC) Lab. Her work focuses on cross-layer innovations in machine learning systems, from algorithms to chip design, aiming to advance green AI and ubiquitous machine learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2017). Research interests include efficient machine learning, neural rendering (e.g., NeRF), hardware-software co-design for AI acceleration, and graph neural networks. Her lab has pioneered projects like RTML and 3DML, funded by NSF, NIH, DARPA, and industry partners (Qualcomm, Intel, Meta). Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2021), ACM SIGDA Outstanding Young Faculty (2022), Meta Faculty Research Award (2022) Grants: Multi-university projects funded by NSF, NIH, DARPA, SRC, ONR, and industry Recognition: First-place wins at DAC 2022 and TinyML Design Contest 2022, IEEE Micro Top Pick 2023 Her research bridges algorithmic innovation with hardware implementation, emphasizing energy efficiency and real-time performance for applications in AR/VR, computer vision, and neuro-symbolic AI systems.
Professor Emma Widdis is a leading scholar at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, specializing in the intersection of Soviet cinema, ideology, and cultural geography. Her work explores the reeducation of sensory perception through film, early Soviet urban spaces, and the construction of subjectivity via cinematic techniques. Teaches 20th-century Russian/Soviet literature, cinema, and film theory Focuses on sensory engagement, political avant-garde, and urban spatial representation Supervisor for MPhil and PhD students in Slavonic Studies Her recent book Socialist Senses (2017) examines how cinema shaped Soviet perceptions of reality. Her publications span topics like silence in sound film, set design materiality, and costume symbolism in early Soviet cinema. While no formal scientific awards are listed, her research has been supported through institutional grants and collaborations with centers like CRASSH and Cambridge Language Sciences.
Adrian Weller is a prominent researcher and academic at the University of Cambridge, serving as a Director of Research in Machine Learning within the Department of Engineering. He holds multiple significant leadership roles including Programme Director for Trust and Society at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI), and previously served as Programme Director for AI at The Alan Turing Institute, the UK national institute for data science and AI. His work bridges theoretical machine learning research with practical applications and societal implications of artificial intelligence. Weller's research interests span a broad spectrum of AI and machine learning topics with a particular focus on ensuring beneficial societal outcomes. His work encompasses explainability, fairness, robustness, scalability, privacy, safety, and ethics in AI systems. He has made significant contributions to trustworthy machine learning, including developing frameworks for AI governance, certification, and human-AI collaboration. His research group actively investigates neuro-symbolic approaches, privacy-preserving techniques, and methods for improving the reliability and interpretability of AI systems. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward addressing the practical challenges of deploying AI systems in real-world contexts, particularly focusing on certification frameworks, governance mechanisms, and human-centered approaches. His work spans theoretical advances in machine learning architectures while maintaining a strong connection to societal impact, with publications appearing in top venues across AI, machine learning, and interdisciplinary applications. Scientific Awards: MBE for services to digital innovation (2022 Queen's Birthday Honours) Turing AI Fellowship for Trustworthy Machine Learning Weller actively supervises a large group of PhD students and postdocs, with current students including Juyeon Heo, Yanzhi Chen, Katie Collins, Isaac Reid, Yichao Liang, Herbie Bradley, and Shoaib Siddiqui. His former students have gone on to positions at leading institutions including Google DeepMind, ETH Zurich, NYU, and MPI-IS Tübingen. He has served on numerous advisory boards including the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, UNESCO's expert group on AI ethics, and the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on AI. His research has been supported through his Turing AI Fellowship and various collaborative projects focused on safe and ethical AI development. Weller leads a vibrant research group focused on trustworthy machine learning, which actively organizes workshops and conferences including ICML 2024 (where he served as Program Chair), multiple workshops on responsible AI, and events through the ELLIS network. His group collaborates extensively across disciplines, working with researchers in computer science, social sciences, law, and policy to address the multifaceted challenges of developing beneficial AI systems.
Prof. Luke Zettlemoyer is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, with affiliations to the Department of Linguistics. He focuses on machine learning, natural language processing, and multimodal systems, contributing to advancements in large language models, ethical AI, and scalable architectures. His research addresses challenges in model alignment, generalization, and cross-domain integration. Key research interests include multimodal reward models, efficient tokenization strategies, and model optimization techniques. He has explored topics such as neural trajectories for robot learning, content-adaptive image processing, and ethical mitigation of verbatim data reproduction. His publications span 2023–2025, emphasizing practical applications of AI in robotics, vision-language systems, and scalable retrieval-based models. While no formal awards are listed, his work reflects significant contributions to foundational AI research.
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.
Lerrel Pinto is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (NYU), where he leads the General-purpose Robotics and AI Lab (GRAIL) as part of the CILVR research group. His work bridges the gap between theoretical machine learning and practical robotics applications, with a focus on enabling robots to generalize and adapt in real-world environments. Dr. Pinto received his undergraduate degree from IIT Guwahati, followed by a PhD from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley before joining NYU as faculty. His research program centers on robot learning and decision making, with several key thrusts that demonstrate his innovative approach to robotics. Pinto's work emphasizes large-scale learning techniques that leverage both extensive data and sophisticated model architectures. A significant portion of his research focuses on representation learning for sensory data, particularly developing methods that enable robots to make sense of visual, tactile, and auditory inputs. His lab has made notable contributions to reinforcement learning algorithms that allow robots to adapt to new scenarios with minimal retraining. Pinto also champions open-source robotics , developing affordable robot platforms that democratize access to robotics research. Analysis of Pinto's recent publications reveals a strong trend toward multimodal perception in robotics, integrating visual, tactile, and auditory information to create more robust robot systems. His work increasingly focuses on zero-shot and few-shot learning capabilities, enabling robots to handle novel situations without extensive retraining. There's also a clear progression toward general-purpose robotics , moving away from task-specific solutions toward more flexible systems that can handle diverse real-world challenges. Dr. Pinto's scientific contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards: Sloan Research Fellowship (2025) NSF CAREER Award (2024) RAL Early Career Award (2024) Best Student Paper Award at ICRA (2016) Outstanding Paper Award at MFM-EAI workshop at ICML (2024) Best Paper Award at NGSM workshop at ICML (2024) Best Student Paper Award at RSS (2023) As an advisor, Pinto has mentored numerous students who have gone on to impactful careers in both academia and industry. His former PhD student Denis Yarats co-founded Perplexity.AI, while Mahi Shafiullah became a postdoc at UC Berkeley and Meta AI. Many of his Masters students have pursued PhDs at top institutions like CMU, MIT, and Stanford, or joined leading robotics companies including 1X, Fauna Robotics, and NVIDIA. Pinto's lab has secured significant research funding, including the NSF CAREER award and likely other grants supporting his robotics research program. The General-purpose Robotics and AI Lab (GRAIL) that Pinto leads brings together a diverse team of researchers working on cutting-edge robotics challenges. The lab maintains strong collaborations with industry partners and other academic institutions, facilitating technology transfer and real-world impact. GRAIL's research spans multiple robotics platforms and focuses on developing algorithms that enable robots to learn from diverse experiences and generalize across environments.
Samuel J. Gershman is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, affiliated with both the Department of Psychology and the Center for Brain Science. He directs the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (CCNLab), where he investigates how the brain acquires richly structured knowledge about the environment and uses this knowledge to guide adaptive behavior. Gershman received his B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University in 2007 and his Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from Princeton University in 2013, followed by postdoctoral training in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT (2013-2015). His research spans computational neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and machine learning. His primary research interests include learning, memory, decision making, and computational neuroscience. Gershman's work integrates behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational techniques to understand cognitive processes. He has made significant contributions to understanding memory systems, reinforcement learning, and the computational principles underlying human cognition. Analysis of Gershman's recent publications reveals a strong focus on computational approaches to understanding cognitive processes, with particular emphasis on memory systems, decision-making mechanisms, and the intersection of artificial intelligence with cognitive neuroscience. His work often bridges theoretical computational models with empirical neuroscience data, exploring how the brain implements efficient cognitive algorithms. Gershman actively mentors graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, with current advisees working on diverse projects spanning computational modeling, neuroimaging, and behavioral experiments. His lab investigates topics ranging from dopamine signaling to social cognition using a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches. The CCNLab, which Gershman directs, brings together researchers from psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and related fields to explore the computational principles of cognition. The lab utilizes a range of methodologies including behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and theoretical analysis to address fundamental questions about how the mind works.
Robin Jia is an Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC) , where he leads the AI, Language, Learning, Generalization, and Robustness (Allegro) Lab . His research focuses on enhancing the reliability and robustness of large language models (LLMs) through mechanistic understanding, benchmarking under distribution shifts, and neurosymbolic integration. Key affiliations include collaborations with the USC Keck School of Medicine and contributions to legal frameworks like the EU's Digital Services Act. Robin's research spans multiple domains, including: Scientific analysis of LLM capabilities in in-context learning , data memorization , and numerical reasoning Advancements in robust NLP systems , emphasizing uncertainty estimation and calibration Development of methods combining LLMs with symbolic solvers for complex reasoning tasks Interdisciplinary applications in medicine and law , such as privacy-preserving synthetic data generation and medical misconception evaluation . His recent publications (2024-2025) address Fourier-based numerical embeddings (NeurIPS), neurosymbolic planning (NAACL), and multimodal benchmarking (COLM), with a strong emphasis on privacy , fairness , and transparency . Scientific awards include the Google Research Scholar Award (2023) , SoCalNLP Symposium Best Paper Awards , and ACL/EMNLP outstanding papers . He advises PhD students like Johnny Wei and Ameya Godbole, and has secured grants from the NSF , USC-Capital One , and USC-Amazon .
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
Michael Carbin is the Jamieson Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and leads the MIT Programming Systems Group. His research focuses on programming systems that address system uncertainty to enhance performance, energy efficiency, and resilience, particularly in environments involving neural networks , approximate computing , and unreliable hardware . His work spans probabilistic programming , quantum computing , and machine learning systems . Articles highlight contributions in pruning neural networks , quantum data structures , and compiler optimization , reflecting trends in deep learning , formal verification , and language-driven systems . Scientific Awards : MIT Frank E. Perkins Award (2020) Sloan Research Fellowship (2020) Facebook Research Award (2019) NSF CAREER Award (2018) Best Paper Awards at OOPSLA (2013, 2014) He has advised numerous graduate students and postdocs including Eric Atkinson, Cambridge Yang, and Charles Yuan, and served on program committees for conferences like POPL, OOPSLA, and ICLR. His group collaborates with institutions such as MIT CSAIL and explores applications in quantum algorithms and probabilistic inference .
Dr. Daniel J. Hsu is a Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, affiliated with the Foundations of Data Science Center and TRIPODS Institute. His research focuses on algorithmic statistics, machine learning theory, and their applications in public health informatics. He has advised numerous students and postdocs, and his work bridges foundational theory with practical systems like foodborne illness detection via social media analysis. Key roles: Associate Editor (ACM Transactions on Algorithms), Program Chair (ICML 2025, COLT 2019) Research areas: Foundations of Data Science, Machine Learning Theory, Fairness, and High-dimensional Statistics His work on detecting foodborne illnesses using Yelp reviews has been deployed by NYC Health departments. Recent contributions include advancements in transformer architectures, group fairness algorithms, and multi-group learning frameworks. Scientific awards include the Sloan Fellowship and multiple NSF grants. He has pioneered interactive machine teaching methods and developed algorithms for robust parameter estimation in high-dimensional settings.
