CS Seminar: Tommi Jaakkola

Description

Tommi Jaakkola, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will give a talk titled "Generative AI for (Molecular) Sciences" for the Department of Computer Science. Jaakkola is also affiliated with the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and an investigator at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Abstract:

Massive efforts are under way to develop and adapt generative AI to solve any and all inferential and design tasks across engineering and science disciplines. Framing or reframing problems in terms of distributional modeling can bring a number of benefits, but also comes with substantial technical and statistical challenges. Tommi S. Jaakkola's work has focused on advancing machine learning methods for controlled generation of complex objects, ranging from molecular interactions (e.g., docking) and 3D structures to new materials tailored to exhibit desirable characteristics such as carbon capture. In this talk, Jaakkola will cover a few research vignettes along with their specific challenges, focusing on diffusion and flow models that surpass traditional or alternative approaches to docking, protein design, or conformational ensembles. Time permitting, he will highlight general challenges and opportunities in this area.