As part of the NRW-USA Year 2023/2024, the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence has conducted a research delegation visit to the United States of America from April 8 – 12, 2024. Through networking events and working sessions, Lamarr researchers connected and worked together with leading AI experts from the U.S. with the goal of establishing and strengthening substantial scientific cooperation on forward-thinking technologies. In addition, Lamarr’s Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Lucie Flek was part of a U.S. delegation surrounding North Rhine-Westphalian Minister President Hendrik Wüst.
The Lamarr delegation, with a staff of 22 people on site, encompassed various thematic foci, including Life and Natural Sciences, Natural Language Processing, Trustworthy AI, Hybrid Machine Learning, Smart City Science, Robotics and Quantum Machine Learning. The first two days of the delegation program centered around representative events designed to tap into and connect with regional networks followed by in-depth working sessions at various top-tier research institutes.
The Program of the Lamarr USA Delegation at a glance
On April 8 and together with the University Alliance (UA) Ruhr, the Lamarr Institute welcomed AI experts from research institutions at the U.S. American East Coast at the German consulate in New York City. The event “Smart Minds meet Smart Machines: AI for Science and the Public Good”, that served as a kick-off to the Lamarr delegation trip, featured a Fireside Chat as well as scientific Spotlight Talks. The following day, the Lamarr delegation engaged with the AI ecosystem of Pittsburgh PA during a tour and evening reception organized by the Pittsburgh Region/Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
From April 10 – 12, the delegation split up into its thematic tracks conducting in-depth scientific discussions, working sessions, lab visits, 1:1 meetings and plenaries at various leading U.S. research institutions. The latter included Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, IBM Research and Quantum, the University of Pennsylvania, the Washington University in St. Louis, Columbia University and Cornell University.
USA Delegation Trip fosters Young Lamarr Researchers
In line with its commitment to advance the next generation of AI researchers, the USA delegation visit also provided a framework to support young Lamarr scientists in the building of their research network. As Lamarr ambassadors, the delegates successfully represented the Lamarr Institute at the various stops of the delegation visit.
The scientists and their U.S. American counterparts settled on many plans for joint research endeavors, such as bilateral project proposals and research papers as well as the supervision of Bachelor and Master theses. In addition, mutual invitations for talks and research stays were accepted. The Lamarr Institute is thrilled to welcome Prof. Dr. Rebecca Nugent (head of the department of Statistics and Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University) as a keynote speaker at “AI24 – The Lamarr Conference” as a result of the delegation trip.
Lamarr’s Lucie Flek accompanies NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst on a U.S. Delegation
Following the successful completion of the Lamarr delegation trip, Principal Investigator Lucie Flek as well as business and science representatives, representatives from the film and media industry, the judiciary, and representatives from the aerospace industry joined Minister President Hendrik Wüst on his U.S. tour. The journey from April 14 – 19 included visits to Microsoft in Seattle and Google in Silicon Valley as well as Stanford University.
Prof. Dr. Lucie Flek says, “The acceleration of progress in the field of AI has opened up incredible new possibilities in research. However, we also face new fundamental system challenges. To cope with the scope and complexity of modern AI systems, an unprecedented level of global collaboration and coordination is required. With the establishment of the Lamarr Institute, there is now not only unique infrastructure for me as a researcher in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also outstanding cooperation opportunities with other leading researchers in the USA and worldwide to address these challenges together, responsibly, transparently, securely, and coordinatively.”
Learn more about the Lamarr USA delegation trip:
Contact for Questions on the Lamarr USA Delegation Trip
Ann-Kathrin Oster, Head of Networking
c/o TU Dortmund University
Phone: +49 231 755-5177
E-Mail: an***************@tu*********.de
