Both recipients will receive funding to continue their research and join the Turing Institute network, a collaborative platform aimed at advancing AI

Two PhD students from Imperial have been awarded the Placement Award on the prestigious Enrichment Scheme of The Alan Turing Institute. The award is presented annually to students who demonstrate exceptional contributions to artificial intelligence (AI) research.

Lisa Alazraki

Lisa Alazraki’s research focuses on natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, with a particular interest in improving the performance of large foundation models on tasks that involve complex reasoning, such as solving mathematical problems, answering knowledge-intensive questions, and navigating virtual environments. In addition, she is exploring how to make these models more robust when faced with input perturbations. Her PhD work seeks to push the boundaries of what large language models (LLMs) can achieve by tackling challenges related to their reasoning abilities and ensuring they can withstand variations in input without losing accuracy. These areas of research are crucial as LLMs are increasingly used in real-world applications where robustness and precision are key.

Alberto Croquevielle

Alberto Croquevielle’s research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and database systems, focusing on "learned indexes," which use machine learning techniques to optimize database queries. By developing these innovative data structures, Alberto aims to accelerate query performance beyond what traditional indexing methods can achieve. His work explores the potential algorithmic advantages of learned indexes, particularly in AI applications like retrieving word embeddings from LLMs. Alberto is also delving into generative AI, which involves creating models capable of generating new content such as text, images, or music. His research in this field has implications for areas ranging from biomedical imaging to data synthesis.

Both recipients will receive funding to continue their research and join the Turing Institute network, a collaborative platform aimed at advancing AI research across the UK.

Congratulations to Lisa and Alberto for this remarkable achievement!

Further information on the Turing Enrichment Scheme can be found here