Two more Oxford engineers join Alan Turing Institute Fellows

A cohort of 51 Fellows from universities and research institutes across the UK joined the Alan Turing Institute last Friday, including Professors Xiaowen Dong and Noa Zilberman from the Department of Engineering Science and Professor Varun Kanade from the Department of Computer Science. The 2024 Fellows were appointed through an open call.

The Alan Turing Institute is the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, whose purpose is to further data science and artificial intelligence research to tackle societal challenges. The Turing Fellowship Scheme aims to develop the data science and AI ecosystem in the UK by supporting, retaining and developing the careers of the next generation of world leading researchers.  

Xiaowen Dong is an Associate Professor of Engineering Science, working in both the Machine Learning Group and the Oxford-Man Institute. Professor Dong's research interests lie at the intersection of signal processing, machine learning, and network science. He combines these techniques in analysing graph-structured data, with applications in social, urban and financial network analysis. He says, “I am delighted and honoured to be awarded a Turing Fellowship. This will enable me to interact with the multidisciplinary community at the Turing in developing novel data-centric solutions to address important societal challenges”.

"This will enable me to interact with the multidisciplinary community at the Turing in developing novel data-centric solutions to address important societal challenges”

Noa Zilberman is an Associate Professor of Engineering Science, where she leads the Computing Infrastructure Group, aiming to build sustainable, scalable and resilient computing infrastructure. Her research explores both Systems for AI and AI for systems. Her research of AI is coupled with her research of ICT sustainability, considering micro-architectures' effect on large-scale systems' carbon and energy efficiency. She says, "I am honoured to be elected a Turing Fellow. This is a great opportunity to engage with like-minded experts and stake holders on aspects of AI and Sustainability. I hope it would enable a step change towards Net-Zero Computing".

"This is a great opportunity to engage with like-minded experts and stake holders on aspects of AI and Sustainability"

Professor James Naismith, Head of the University's MPLS Division, commented: "I’m thrilled to celebrate three newly announced Turing Fellows from our division in MPLS: Xiaowen Dong, Noa Zilberman, and Varun Kanade, representing the fields of Engineering and Computer Science. The news underscores the exceptional talent within our division and highlights our commitment to advancing the frontiers of data science and AI. This science is going to change the world, the University is continuing to lead in ensuring these developments benefit us all."

Professor Mark Girolami, Chief Scientist at The Alan Turing Institute said: “I’m delighted to welcome a new cohort of Turing Fellows, brought to us from across our University Network in recognition of their status as the next generation of world leading researchers in the data sciences, AI and related fields. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the immense value they will add to our diverse and vibrant science and innovation community, including playing a critical role in the delivery the Turing’s strategy as we strive to change the world for the better through data science and AI.”

Five Oxford engineers joined as Fellows in 2021/22