Columbia, Amazon to Launch New AI Research Center

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JEFFREY SCHIFFMAN

Columbia Engineering and Amazon have formed a partnership to create a new center for artificial-intelligence research and education at the University, with Amazon providing $5 million in funding over the next five years.

The new Columbia Center of Artificial Intelligence Technology in Collaboration with Amazon will support a broad range of programs, including fellowships for engineering PhD students; faculty-led research projects with students, postdoctoral fellows, and research staff; and public events that promote AI ventures in and around New York City.

“Artificial intelligence will have an enormous impact on every aspect of our lives, fundamentally changing how we work, learn, access resources and services, and connect to one another,” says engineering dean Mary C. Boyce. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Amazon to leverage our collective expertise and advance AI in a way that is responsible, effective, and beneficial to society.”

Shih-Fu Chang, a Columbia computer scientist known for his research on computer vision and multimedia information retrieval, will serve as the center’s inaugural director.

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