奇速英语

顶尖AI专家齐国君自美归国

Guo-Jun Qi, a leading Chinese scientist in artificial intelligence (AI), recently made his way back to China after ten years in the United States. His return marks an exciting new chapter for the country’s AI research landscape.

Qi graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2005 with a degree in automation. His academic journey didn’t stop there. Later, he earned two PhDs, one from USTC in 2009 and another from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA) in 2012. During his studies, he was highly accomplished. He won several top awards, such as the Microsoft Fellowship (研究生奖学金) and IBM Fellowship. In 2007, he was one of ten students lucky enough to be invited to Bill Gates’ home in Seattle. There, he witnessed amazing AI-powered smart home technology. The “magic mirror” that could analyze a person’s look and suggest outfits was truly eye-opening, lighting up his passion for AI.

After graduation, Qi held various important positions. He worked at IBM’s research center. Then, he became the director of the MAPLE lab at the University of Central Florida. In 2018, he joined Huawei Research USA. He also founded Oppo’s research center in Seattle.

Now, Qi has joined Westlake University in Hangzhou. As the leader of the Machine Perception and Learning (MAPLE) Lab, he guides a team of 20 researchers. They focus on AI and deep learning to create images, videos, and virtual environments. Qi said the free and creative environment at Westlake University was what brought him back to pursue his long-term dreams.

The MAPLE Lab continues to conduct advanced research on AI. Westlake University, China’s first private non-profit research university, plays a huge part in developing top talent.