The Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.AI) is dedicated to fostering and promoting research in all aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Waterloo.AI consists of over 250 professors and their research associates, spanning all six of the faculties at the University of Waterloo and more than 35 departments and schools. Our researchers tackle many of the most challenging problems in foundational and applied AI and ML, including its social, ethical, and policy implications.
Waterloo.AI was launched officially in early 2018 with generous support from the Faculty of Engineering (the largest faculty of engineering in the country), the Faculty of Mathematics (which houses the largest Computer Science department in the country), the Office of the Vice-President Academic & Provost, and the private industry. The founding co-directors of the Institute are Professor Fakhri Karray (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering) and Professor Peter van Beek (Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics). After the departure of Professors Fakhri Karray and Peter Van Beek in the spring of 2021, Professors Jimmy Lin and Vijay Ganesh were appointed as the Co-Directors of the Institute. Following Professor Vijay Ganesh’s departure to Georgia Tech in Summer 2023, Professor Stephen Smith joined as a Co-Director.
AI will change our lives, transforming how we work, how we travel, how we treat disease, how we communicate, and how we learn. Waterloo.AI has a vital role to play in this transformation. Our researchers are developing intelligent systems that can detect cancer and heart disease, understand language and emotion, and navigate roadways and factory floors better than ever before. Our constant focus on key technologies and on the foundational breakthroughs to make them a reality will accelerate AI innovation that benefits everyone, everywhere.
Building on the University of Waterloo's outstanding track record of entrepreneurship and partnership with industry, a key strength of Waterloo.AI is our ability to deliver effective AI innovation for non-profits and businesses, while advancing the research frontiers of AI.
At Waterloo.AI, our world-renowned researchers employ leading technologies to design and develop human-centred artificial intelligence (AI) for the greater social good. These advancements in global artificial intelligence (AI) enable Waterloo.AI to build trust with industry partners and scale socially responsible AI solutions that have the potential to improve people’s lives.
Pearl Sullivan, former Dean of Engineering at Waterloo and one of the greatest supporters for the AI Institute has passed Saturday, November 28, 2020. The Waterloo AI Institute mourns her passing as she was among the first who recognized the importance of launching the Institute jointly with the faculty of Math and with participation from other faculties at the University.
Dean Pearl has been a great visionary and has made a tremendous impact on various engineering programs at Waterloo. The following article which appeared in Waterloo Daily Bulletin yesterday summarizes her major achievements at Waterloo.
