Professor awarded prestigious Turing AI Fellowship
A University of Leicester-based expert will work to shape artificial intelligence (AI) systems of the future with the support of a multi-million-pound Government investment.
Professor Ivan Tyukin, of the Department of Mathematics, is Head of the university’s Visual Intelligence Lab and is one of 15 researchers from across the UK to have been awarded Turing AI Acceleration Fellowships as part of a £20 million investment delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Professor Tyukin’s research project aims to go beyond current AI concepts and systems to create data-driven AI that is ‘adaptive, robust and resilient’. Original theories created in the project will establish new fundamentals behind trust in AI and lead to new methodologies for determining the limitations of generic data-driven structures.
Professor Tyukin said:
“Recent years have seen explosive progress in data-driven AI. But to be truly transformational, integration of AI throughout society requires understanding and trust.
“This fellowship will enable me to work with a world-class team of experts and stakeholders to develop and showcase much-needed solutions to challenges in healthcare, security, space, and manufacturing sectors.
“I am excited by the transformative opportunities and impact which this project will create and deliver through established partnerships, participation and support from large companies like AstraZeneca, Toyota, AWS, CGI, and NTT Data, as well as small to medium-sized enterprises like Bluesky International, Visual Management Systems, Tangi0, Synoptix, plus key project stakeholders from the healthcare sector including University Hospital Leicester, NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, and the Trauma Audit Research Network.
“These solutions will enable creation of a new gold standard for methods in these important areas.”
The prestigious fellowships are named after mathematician and AI pioneer Alan Turing, with novel projects set to examine techniques as diverse as combatting cancer, developing digital twins that can aid us in modelling and understanding air pollution, and improving cybersecurity through developing more robust and transparent AI algorithms.
Just five Turing AI Acceleration Fellowships had previously been awarded, and aim to increase collaboration between academia and industry with each fellow bringing together a wide range of partners on their projects to accelerate the impact of their transformative AI technologies.
Science Minister, Amanda Solloway said:
“The UK is the birthplace of artificial intelligence and we have a duty to equip the next generation of Alan Turings with the tools that will keep the UK at the forefront of this remarkable technological innovation.
“The inspirational fellows we are backing today will use AI to tackle some of our greatest challenges head on, transforming how people live, work and communicate, cementing the UK’s status as a world leader in AI and data.”
Digital Minister, Caroline Dinenage, said:
“The UK is a nation of innovators and this government investment will help our talented academics use cutting-edge technology to improve people's daily lives - from delivering better disease diagnosis to managing our energy needs.”
The Turing AI Fellowships are delivered through UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), in partnership with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Office for AI and the Alan Turing Institute.
EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Dame Lynn Gladden said:
“The Turing AI Acceleration Fellowships will support some of our leading researchers to progress their careers and develop ground-breaking AI technologies with societal impact.
“By enhancing collaboration between academia and industry and accelerating these transformative technologies these Fellowships will help to maintain and build on the UK’s position as a world leader in AI.”