The Vector Institute fosters world-class research in artificial intelligence (AI) and the commercial applications that stem from it. Since its opening in March 2017, the institute has inducted many researchers to develop AI related to different fields such as medicine and statistical sciences. Recently, six U of T researchers were among the inductees.
David Fleet is the Chair of Computer and Mathematical Science at UTSC. His research interests include computer vision, image processing, visual perception, and visual neuroscience. Specifically, Fleet studies mathematical foundations and algorithms for visual motion analysis, tracking, and estimation. He also develops models of motion perception and stereopsis, or depth perception.
Anna Goldenberg is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and a key scientist in the Genetics and Genome Biology Lab at Sickkids Research Institute. Her research focuses on high-throughput experiments that facilitate data collection. In her laboratory, Goldberg works on creating machine learning methods that make such data useful for clinical diagnosis. Her goal is to use machine learning to decipher human disease heterogeneity.
Frank Rudzicz is also an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and a scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. His background in natural language and speech processing lends to his current research in developing augmented speech systems and its applications, like automated human dialog. Rudzicz’s long-term goal is to produce language software that can improve the quality of life for individuals with cognitive or physical disabilities.
Jimmy Ba will be starting as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the fall of 2018. His research focuses on the development of learning algorithms for deep neural networks, layered computing systems organized like biological networks in the brain. Ba has also developed the Adam Optimizer, a go-to algorithm to train deep learning models. Currently, he works under Geoffrey Hinton, the Vector Institute’s new Chief Scientific Adviser.
Murat Erdogdu will be joining U of T next fall as an Assistant Professor of Computer and Statistical Sciences. His research interests lie in optimization, statistics, and machine learning. His goal is to reduce the time required to train machine learning models from weeks to hours so that researchers can more efficiently test and identify the best model available.
Marzyeh Ghassemi will be an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Computer Science in the fall of 2018. She studies AI in the context of health care. Ghassemi applies machine learning to clinical data to predict and stratify relevant human risks. Her research has been applied in several ways, including estimating the physiological state of critically ill patients and modelling the need for clinical intervention.
The Vector Institute is located within the MaRS Discovery District, allowing it to maintain strong connections with the University Health Network and other sponsors. With the increasing use and development of AI, universities are taking advantage of the opportunities for growth within the field. These new U of T additions open the possibility for further advancements and collaborations.
