News and Events – Missouri S&T names AI expert Donald Wunsch founding director of Kummer Institute Center for Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems

Dr. Donald C. Wunsch II, the Mary Okay. Finley Missouri Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Laptop Engineering at Missouri College of Science and Expertise, has been appointed founding director of the college’s Kummer Institute Heart for Synthetic Intelligence and Autonomous Methods. Wunsch will start his duties Dec. 1, when he completes his appointment as a program director within the Nationwide Science Basis’s Power, Energy, Management and Networks program.

As founding director, Wunsch will lead the event of the brand new heart’s mission, imaginative and prescient and strategic plan to develop a nationally acknowledged analysis heart centered on the quickly evolving fields of synthetic intelligence and autonomous programs. Finally, the middle will deploy the newest machine studying and synthetic intelligence strategies to advance the efficiency and intelligence of a spread of robotic and autonomous options. Wunsch will even be liable for leveraging the breadth of capabilities and experience amongst S&T’s school to strengthen collaboration with and amongst a number of university-based analysis facilities.

The middle was based to spur regional, nationwide and world improvement in synthetic intelligence and autonomous programs, in alignment with the imaginative and prescient of the Kummer Institute for Pupil Success, Analysis and Financial Growth at Missouri S&T. Late St. Louis entrepreneur Fred Kummer, a Missouri S&T graduate, and his spouse June donated $300 million to Missouri S&T in October 2020 to determine the Kummer Institute. Their donation is the most important single reward ever to any public or personal college in Missouri and one of many largest ever to any college.

“Mr. Kummer acknowledged the potential synthetic intelligence and autonomous programs have to really change the world,” says Dr. Kamal Khayat, interim vice chancellor for analysis and innovation at S&T. “I’m happy to welcome somebody as achieved and succesful as Dr. Wunsch to guide our institute’s modern efforts in these two really transformative disciplines. The insights and experience he has acquired all through his profession might be an asset to your complete S&T group as he steps into this new function.”

Earlier than becoming a member of S&T in 1999, from 1984 to 1993, Wunsch labored for Boeing, culminating in his function as senior principal scientist. In 1993 he joined Texas Tech College as assistant professor with a joint appointment to the departments {of electrical} and pc engineering and pc science; he was promoted to affiliate professor at Texas Tech in 1998. He joined {the electrical} and pc engineering division at S&T in 1999, and has courtesy appointments in system engineering, pc science, enterprise administration and arithmetic and statistics. In 2005, Wunsch served as president of the Worldwide Neural Networks Society (INNS), which bestowed upon him its Gabor Award in 2015 and its Ada Lovelace Award in 2019. He’s a Fellow of the INNS and the Institute of Electrical and Digital Engineers (IEEE), and was twice the Charles Hedlund Distinguished Visiting Professor on the American College in Cairo. Wunsch has mentored 23 Ph.D. recipients in pc engineering, electrical engineering, programs engineering and pc science.

Wunsch’s analysis has centered on unsupervised studying, also referred to as clustering, notably hierarchical and real-time variations; adaptive resonance and reinforcement studying architectures; {hardware} and functions; and varied multidisciplinary collaborations. He has greater than 500 publications to his credit score, together with 12 books.

“I really feel honored and grateful for the outstanding alternative to assist develop the Kummer Institute Heart for Synthetic Intelligence and Autonomous Methods,” Wunsch says. “For over 20 years, I’ve been amazed on the novelty, variety and influence of S&T analysis. I stay up for supporting collaborations throughout campus, throughout our area and all over the world as we develop and intensify our competitiveness in these extremely transformational fields. I want to hear from inner and exterior stakeholders about how AI and Autonomous Methods might help them obtain their targets.”  

Wunsch earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and a grasp’s diploma in utilized arithmetic from the College of Washington in 1991 and 1987, respectively. He additionally earned an govt M.B.A. from Washington College in 2006 and a bachelor’s diploma in utilized arithmetic from the College of New Mexico in 1984, and accomplished the Jesuit Core Honors Program at Seattle College in 1981.

The Heart for Synthetic Intelligence and Autonomous Methods is considered one of 4 new analysis facilities established by the Kummer Institute. The Heart for Superior Manufacturing is led by Dr. Richard Billo, who joined S&T in January. Nationwide searches for founding administrators proceed for the Heart for Superior and Resilient Infrastructure and the Heart for Useful resource Sustainability.

About Missouri College of Science and Expertise 

Missouri College of Science and Expertise (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused analysis college of over 7,200 college students. A part of the four-campus College of Missouri System and situated in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T affords 101 levels in 40 areas of research and is among the many nation’s high 10 universities for return on funding, in line with Enterprise Insider. S&T is also house to the Kummer Institute, made attainable by a $300 million reward from Fred and June Kummer. For extra details about Missouri S&T, go to www.mst.edu.