We’re pleased to announce that Dr. Frank Wood, an Amii-affiliated researcher at the University of British Columbia, has been renewed as a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii. This prestigious appointment strengthens Amii's research excellence, bringing the total number of Amii-affiliated Canada CIFAR AI Chairs to 37.

The AI Chair program is a cornerstone of CIFAR’s Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The program supports Canada’s three national AI research hubs — Amii in Alberta, Mila in Montreal, and the Vector Institute in Toronto and continues to nurture a robust and collaborative AI ecosystem that attracts world-class talent and drives commercialization opportunities across the country.

“Canada's leadership in fundamental AI research and its global impact are fueled by sustained investments in the CIFAR AI Chairs program and the national AI institutes. This support empowers Amii to drive advancements in both AI research and commercialization,” says Cam Linke, Amii CEO. "We’re excited to welcome Dr. Frank Wood as a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii. With his impressive track record in groundbreaking research and industry innovation, I’m eager to see the contributions he will bring to shaping a positive AI future."

Advancing Deep Generative Modeling and Real-World Applications of Probabilistic Programming

Frank Wood is an associate professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia and was previously a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Mila before his renewal. Before joining UBC, he held faculty positions at the University of Oxford and Columbia University. Wood earned his PhD in computer science from Brown University, where he was mentored by renowned researchers Dr. Michael Black and Dr. Tom Griffiths.

In 2018, Wood established the Pacific Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence (PLAI), a world-class generative AI laboratory that focuses on Bayesian inference and probabilistic programming research to advance modern deep generative models for reinforcement learning, control and artificial general intelligence. 

His primary research focuses on deep generative modeling, probabilistic programming, reinforcement learning, and applied probabilistic machine learning. His work spans the development of advanced probabilistic models and inference algorithms, with practical applications in areas such as autonomous driving and robotics.

A Proven Innovator in Industry

Before his academic career, Wood held an accomplished career as an entrepreneur, where he successfully operated and eventually sold, the content-based image retrieval company, ToFish! to Time Warner. He also served as CEO of Interfolio and worked at the Cornell Theory Centre and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is the founder of InvertedAI, a Vancouver-based startup focused on advanced simulation technology for the autonomous vehicle industry. 

Wood holds multiple patents, has authored over 100 papers, received the AISTATS best paper award in 2009, and has been awarded faculty research awards from Xerox, Google (2x's) and Amazon.