Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a driver of digital transformation. At its locations in Dortmund, Bonn and Sankt Augustin, the Lamarr Institute, which has been funded by the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with around 20 million Euros annually since July 2022, decisively advances forward-thinking AI technologies. With the “Lamarr Network Ramp Up” program, the state government of NRW is further contributing to the development of the top AI research institute. The funding program is aimed at internationally renowned AI researchers at universities in NRW and enables them to connect to the scientific research and development of the Lamarr Institute at an early stage. On Friday, March 24, State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Science, Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert, ceremoniously awarded the first two Lamarr Fellows at the Ministry in Düsseldorf: Prof. Dr. Barbara Hammer from Bielefeld University and Prof. Dr. Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo from Paderborn University.
State Secretary Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert says: “In North Rhine-Westphalia, the future of AI is researched and shaped for the people. The Lamarr Fellowship Program creates synergies between our AI locations and underlines the leading role of ‘AI made in NRW’. As Fellows, Prof. Dr. Barbara Hammer and Prof. Dr. Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo will further strengthen the work of the Lamarr Institute. I am already looking forward to many more applications from all over North Rhine-Westphalia for the Fellowship program.”
Lamarr Fellows receive up to 600,000 Euros in research funding as well as access to the structures and opportunities of the Lamarr Institute. They are also part of the extensive Lamarr network. The Fellows, who were selected by an international panel of experts in the first round, are world-renowned in the core research area of Artificial Intelligence. During the course of her Fellowship, Barbara Hammer, who also heads the NRW Graduate School Data-NInJA, will conduct research on trustworthy AI for spatial-temporal data with regard to challenges of climate change and drinking water supply. The project of Lamarr Fellow Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo, who is ranked among the top 2% of AI researchers worldwide by Stanford University, aims to develop novel Machine Learning techniques as a basis for explainable algorithmic decisions on the web.
“The Lamarr Institute’s research thrives on exchange, joint projects as well as innovative insights through internationally leading AI research. With Barbara Hammer and Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo, we have strong partners at our side. We are looking forward to the exciting collaboration with them in the context of the Lamarr Fellowship,” says Prof. Dr. Christian Bauckhage, Co-Director of the Lamarr Institute.
Until April 17, AI scientists at universities in NRW can apply for the second round of the “Lamarr Network Ramp Up”.
Press release of the State of NRW (in German): Excellence made in NRW! Two top researchers become first Lamarr Fellows
