AI increasingly augments research practices, redefines scientific workflows, and evolves teaching and training—requiring new skills, ethical frameworks, and collaborative infrastructures across disciplines.

Join us on Monday, March 23, for Shahar Mendelson’s lecture, The role of Academia in the study of AI!

The recent progress in the capabilities of AI is nothing short of remarkable, and it is reshaping our world. But truth be told, at this point in time we have very little understanding of the real reasons behind this progress. In this talk, Shahar Mendelson will outline what he sees as the role of academia in the quest towards a better understanding of AI, focusing on some challenges and opportunities that are likely to be encountered along the way. I will then give a glimpse to one mathematical facet: the role that the geometry of high dimensional sets, and in particular, structure preservation via randomness, is likely to play in the study of AI.

About

Shahar Mendelson studies the mathematical foundations of AI and data science. He has been making seminal contributions to the area over three decades, with far reaching implications in machine learning, high dimensional statistics and related aspects of signal processing. Mendelson identified the surprising fact that certain crucial aspects of data science are actually deep mathematical questions in high-dimensional geometry – an area of pure mathematics that explores (counter-intuitive) phenomena that occur when the dimension of the space becomes very large. Thanks to his discovery and the mathematical machinery he has been developing, Mendelson solved some of the most difficult, long-standing open problems in mathematical data science. Mendelson was awarded the medal of the Australian Mathematical Society in 2008 (the highest award given by the AustMS to researchers under the age of 40), and was elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2024. He holds the Thomas W. Powell ’62 Chair for Science at Texas A&M University, and previously held professorship positions at the Australian National University, Technion-I.I.T, and the University of Warwick, and the Excellence Chair in Artificial Intelligence at Sorbonne University.

Hybrid Event

Whether you’re a student or simply interested in how Artificial Intelligence is changing science and engineering practices–this lecture series is open to everyone:

• We look forward to meeting you in person in TU Wien’s beautiful Festsaal at 1040 Vienna, Karlsplatz 13, 1st floor, room AA0148.
• If you can’t make it person, switch on your laptop and join us via Zoom (Meeting ID: 661 3918 8284, Passcode: serwyN6e).

Public Lecture Series AI in Science and Engineering

Our public lecture series AI in Science and Engineering explores how AI is transforming these disciplines. Bringing together computer science, mathematics, engineering, and science in general, the series highlights how AI is reshaping discovery, design, and deployment in science and engineering.

Engaging with these changes is essential: AI already permeates daily life and has fundamentally altered how science and engineering are practiced, from data collection and analysis to experiment design, simulation, and validation. Understanding AI’s capabilities and limits helps researchers build systems that are safe, robust, and equitable. It also informs how we teach and train the next generation—integrating responsible innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration so that the scientific and engineering communities can advance AI that serves people and strengthens the foundations of science and engineering.

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