Apple AI/ML fellowship awarded to Aryo Lotfi
© 2024 EPFL
In 2024, only one researcher from continental Europe made the cut to become an Apple AI/ML fellow: EPFL’s Aryo Lotfi
EPFL PhD student Aryo Lotfi from the Chair of Mathematical Data Science (IC), supervised by Prof. Emmaneul Abbé, was recently awarded a prestigious Apple AI/ML PhD Fellowship in the domain ‘ML Theory’. The award covers full tuition and fees for up to 2 years as well as a travel allowance.
“The Apple Scholars in AIML PhD fellowship recognizes the contributions of researchers in computer science and engineering at the graduate and postgraduate level. Apple Scholars in AIML are selected based on their innovative research, record as thought leaders and collaborators, and commitment to advancing their respective fields”, said Apple Research in a press release.
We recently caught up with Aryo to learn more about his past endeavors and current research interests.
1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to study machine learning?
During high school, I was deeply interested in math and used to compete in math Olympiads. I also studied computer engineering during my bachelor's. In general, I was looking for a field with robust mathematical foundations and tangible applications in real life. So, machine learning was the perfect match.
2. What brought you to EPFL?
I believe EPFL is one of the leading academic institutions in machine learning. Moreover, I was really interested in my advisor's research, and it was a great match. Ultimately, the research aspect combined with the high living standards of Switzerland informed my decision.
3. Could you summarize your PhD research in a single sentence?
My research focuses on understanding and improving the reasoning capabilities of neural networks through a theoretical lens.
4. What impact do you hope your research will have on society or the field?
The applications of machine learning models are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in the real world. However, we can argue that these models do not have sufficient reasoning ability. I hope my research will make these models more efficient, practical, and safe by improving their reasoning aspects.
5. Why is your research a good match with Apple?
In my opinion, understanding and enhancing the reasoning power of ML models is significantly beneficial for deploying these models in the real world.
Interested to know more about Apple AI/ML PhD fellowships? Contact us at the Research Office.