Artificial Intelligence Research

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science dedicated to studying and developing intelligent systems, machines, and software that perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence. These tasks include:

  • Learning from data
  • Recognizing patterns
  • Understanding language
  • Making decisions
  • Solving complex problems

AI powers technologies such as speech recognition, computer vision, natural language processing, robotics, and smart decision-making systems, transforming sectors like healthcare, finance, cybersecurity, and more.

Areas of Focus

Our AI researchers lead pioneering projects to:

  • Develop advanced machine learning models that enable computers to learn and improve without explicit programming
  • Create natural language processing tools that understand, interpret, and generate human language
  • Design computer vision algorithms that allow machines to analyze and interpret visual data
  • Advance robotics by applying AI methods for perception, planning, and autonomous control
  • Build reasoning and decision-making frameworks to help AI systems make intelligent choices in complex environments
  • Explore reinforcement learning techniques to train agents through trial and error
  • Investigate AI fairness, transparency, and accountability to promote ethical and responsible AI development
  • Apply AI solutions in healthcare, cybersecurity, finance, and other real-world applications
  • Develop scalable AI architectures capable of processing large datasets efficiently
  • Improve human-AI interaction for more natural and intuitive intelligent systems
AI-generated illustration of artificial general intelligence shows a gleaming robot sitting at a desk, looking pensive, and writing with its left hand with a few books stacked on the desk.

Leading AI Innovation

Artificial Intelligence Research at Rochester

At the University of Rochester, AI research combines deep theoretical knowledge with practical applications. Our interdisciplinary teams collaborate across computer science, engineering, and other fields to solve challenges in machine learning, natural language understanding, robotics, and beyond.

Artificial Intelligence Researchers

Meet the faculty at the forefront of artificial intelligence research.

Zhen Bai

Bai, Zhen

Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science, Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3007 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-7758
Web Address
Website

Interests: Human-Computer Interaction; Augmented Reality; Tangible User Interfaces; Embodied Conversational Agent; Technology-Enhanced Learning; Computer-Supported Collaborative Work; Assistive Technology; Machine Learning for HCI

Mujdat Cetin

Cetin, Mujdat

Robin and Tim Wentworth Director, Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Professor of Computer Science

Director, New York State Center of Excellence in Data Science

Office Location
1211 Wegmans Hall and 719 Computer Studies Building
Telephone
(585) 276-5061

Interests: computational sensing and imaging as applied to radar and biomedical imaging; probabilistic methods for image and video analysis as applied to biomedical image analysis, microscopic neuroimaging, and computer vision; signal processing and machine learning for brain-computer/machine interfaces, with applications for alternative communication and rehabilitation for patients and monitoring of cognitive states

Zhiyao Duan

Duan, Zhiyao

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
720 Computer Studies Building
Telephone
(585) 275-5302
Web Address
Website

Interests: Computer Audition; Audio Signal Processing; Machine Learning; Music Information Retrieval

George Ferguson

Ferguson, George

Professor of Computer Science (Instruction) Co-Director Computer Science Undergraduate Program

Office Location
2103 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Artificial intelligence; Intelligent agents; Agent communication languages; Agent architectures; User interfaces: speech recognition, natural language understanding, dialogue, conversational agents; Temporal reasoning: representation, planning, scheduling; Semantic web: ontologies, knowledge-based systems

Gourab Ghoshal

Ghoshal, Gourab

Professor of Physics

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
464 Bausch & Lomb Hall
Telephone
(585) 276-7748
Web Address
Website

Interests: Noneqilibrium statistical mechanics, complex systems and network theory

Daniel Gildea

Gildea, Daniel

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3019 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-7230
Web Address
Website

Interests: Machine translation; Semantic parsing; Algorithms for natural language processing

Ralf Haefner

Haefner, Ralf

Associate Professor of Brain & Cognitive Sciences

Associate Professor of Physics

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
318 Meliora Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Computational Neuroscience; Perceptual decision-making; Probabilistic inference; Selective attention; Neural population encoding and decoding; Depth perception/processing of binocular disparity

Hangfeng He

He, Hangfeng

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Data Science

Office Location
3009 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-8848
Web Address
Website

Interests: Machine learning; Natural language processing; Reasoning

Ehsan Hoque

Hoque, Ehsan

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3013 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-1351
Web Address
Website

Interests: Human Computer Interaction; Artificial Intelligence ; Interactive machine learning; Health and wellbeing; Future of skills

Thomas Howard

Howard, Thomas M.

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
732 Computer Studies Building
Telephone
(585) 275--375

Interests: Artificial Intelligence; Robotics; Motion Planning; Human-Robot Interaction

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Iordan, Coraline Rinn

she/her/hers

Assistant Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Neuroscience

Office Location
308 Meliora Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: visual and semantic cognition; learning; attention; neuroplasticity; real-time fMRI; neurofeedback; machine learning; neural networks; data science

Robert Jacobs

Jacobs, Robert A.

Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science, and the Center for Visual Science

Office Location
306 Meliora Hall
Telephone
(585) 275-0753
Web Address
Website

Interests: cognitive and perceptual learning; neural computation

Anson Kahng

Kahng, Anson

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Data Science

Office Location
2401 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Computational social choice; Democracy and computer science; Economics and computation; Artificial intelligence; Theoretical computer science; Algorithmic game theory

Christopher Kanan

Kanan, Christopher

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Associate Director for AI Strategy, Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Office Location
3017 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Artificial Intelligence; Deep Learning; Computer Vision; Cognitive Science; Applied Machine Learning (e.g. Medical Computer Vision)

Jian Kang

Kang, Jian

Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3011 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Data mining; Computational social science; Uncertainty quantification; Algorithmic fairness; Trustworthy AI; Machine learning

Jiaming Liang smiling.

Liang, Jiaming

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Data Science

Office Location
2403 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Mathematical and numerical optimization; Sampling algorithms; Stochastic programming; Algorithmic game theory

Jiebo Luo

Luo, Jiebo

Albert Arendt Hopeman Professor of Engineering

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3101 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 276-5784
Web Address
Website

Interests: Computer Vision; Machine learning; Data Mining; Social Media; Biomedical Informatics; Human Computer Interaction; Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing

Adam Purtee

Purtee, Adam

Associate Professor of Computer Science (Instruction)

Office Location
2109 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Natural language understanding ; Knowledge representation ; Commonsense reasoning ; Machine Learning ; Numerical programming

Daniel Stefankovic

Stefankovic, Daniel

Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
2315 Wegmans Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Theoretical computer science: graph theory, combinatorics, Fourier transform, Markov chains/counting, learning theory, phylogeny, game theory, graph equations, routing

Aaron White

White, Aaron

Associate Professor of Linguistics

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Director of FACTS.lab

Office Location
511A Lattimore Hall
Web Address
Website

Interests: Computational Linguistics; Natural Language Semantics

Xiangxiang Xu

Xu, Xiangxiang

Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Office Location
3003 Wegmans Hall

Interests: Information Theory; Information Processing; Machine Learning Theory; Representation Learning