Description

The University at Albany, State University of New York, seeks to hire the founding director of the UAlbany Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IAI), effective by the start of the Fall 2023 semester. The new IAI will be the hub for a campus-wide effort in research, translation, and industrial partnerships in the field of AI to solve problems of regional, national, and international importance.  Furthermore, the IAI will also house the $200 million AI initiative that was launched with an initial investment of $75 million from New York State. The director of the IAI will also be considered for an Empire Innovation Professor in one of the university’s academic departments. This New York State supported appointment provides supplemental funding resources to advance the appointee’s research program and pursuit of extramural research funding. The IAI Director will report directly to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (VPRED).

About UAlbany and Albany AI Initiative

The University at Albany is classified by Carnegie Foundation as an R1 institution of “very high research activity” as well as for its outstanding record of community engagement.  The University is among the four SUNY Centers in the state university system. It has a broad mission to facilitate research and scholarly activities, education, and workforce training in sciences, engineering, social science, public health, humanities, and arts.  Its world-class scientific facilities include a soon-to-be-built, state-of-the-art supercomputing cluster and a secure data center. 

UAlbany recently launched a $200 million dollar AI Initiative which will significantly expand the artificial intelligence supercomputing resources available in the state of New York for teaching and research, as well as render UAlbany as one of the leading universities in AI in the nation.

As part of the Albany AI Initiative, the University will add an unprecedented 27 new faculty members specializing in artificial intelligence in the next academic year, marking the next critical phase in the University’s ambitious plan to incorporate elements of AI teaching, research, and workforce (re)training across all academic programs. The new AI cluster hires, combined with the approximately 25 current faculty researchers engaged in the development and applications of AI research, will make UAlbany one of the nation’s top AI institutions. All new AI faculty members-- along with current UAlbany AI-oriented faculty-- will be associated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IAI). Empowered by the Albany AI Initiative and benefitting from the upcoming reaffiliation with the nationally leading College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), the IAI Director will provide leadership to advance the University’s broad mission and deliver world-class AI solutions in areas such as computer, computational, and physical sciences, neuroscience, health science, semiconductor manufacturing, renewable energy, sustainability, climate science, emergency management and cybersecurity as well as within the arts and humanities.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or related STEM discipline.
• 12+ years of relevant research and academic or equivalent industry experience beyond the Ph.D.
• Established track record of research in artificial intelligence or machine learning.

• Record of distinguished scholarship appropriate for an appointment as a tenured full professor.
• Demonstrated excellence in teaching/education in academic or non-academic institutions.

• Demonstrated success in research program development.
• Experience in leadership and management, including both staff and program leadership.
• Experience in developing, planning, organizing, leading, and managing a major R&D unit such as an institute, center, major laboratory or equivalent.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Technical expertise at the highest levels of scientific enterprise.

 Preferred Qualifications:

• A demonstrated record of mentoring junior researchers.
• Have a working knowledge of policies and guidelines that relate to administration and management of complex R&D organizations.
• Ability to develop a long-term vision for AI at UAlbany and alignment with federal funding priorities.
• Extensive experience managing large projects with multi-million-dollar budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to work in diverse, collaborative, multi-disciplinary, multi-professional teams and to lead by example.

• Relevant private, public, or non-profit sector experience and/or a strong record of developing successful partnerships with the private, public, or non-profit sectors.