About

The mission of the Center is to better society through the development and adoption of advanced AI technology contributing to a more secure, connected, creative, sustainable, healthy and equitable humanity.

Connecting and channeling the broad strengths in SEAS and related disciplines through collaborative projects, student fellowships, and outreach programming, the Center will establish a world-class center of knowledge discovery and talent training for broad societal impact. Through a partnership with Amazon - a leading industry collaborator, the Center will leverage the deep insights and extensive experiences in developing robust, scalable AI systems meeting customer needs in critical applications and objectives. Such insights play an essential role in cultivating new research ideas and validating academic research results.

Partnership

Recognizing the broad and deep strengths of Columbia Engineering and the wider AI community at Columbia University, Amazon is elevating its collaboration with Columbia by sponsoring the Center in areas of advanced research development, PhD training, and knowledge dissemination. In addition, Amazon scientists and Columbia faculty/student researchers will collaborate on research projects, participating in monthly AI Technology seminars, semi-annual workshops, and an annual AI Technology conference organized by the Center.

Leadership & Administration

Center Director

Shih-Fu ChangDean, Columbia Engineering

Amazon Liaison

Shankar Ananthakrishnan, Director of Applied Science, Alexa AI, Amazon

Advisory Group Members

Shankar Ananthakrishnan, Director of Applied Science, Alexa AI, Amazon
Ido Rosen (Sr. Principal Applied Scientist/Engineer, Amazon)
Michael Kearns (Amazon Scholar, Amazon)
Julia Hirschberg (Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor, Computer Science, Columbia University)
Garud Iyengar (Tang Family Professor, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University)
John Wright (Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, Columbia University)
Cliff Stein (Professor, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research/Data Science Institute, Columbia University)
Assaf Zeevi (Kravis Professor, the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University)
Noemie Elhadad (Associate Professor, Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center)

Administration Partner - Amazon

Program Manager

Jessie Taft (Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships)