ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ researchers to feature prominently during three-day Toronto tech festival
![photo of Geoff Hinton](/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-04-Geoff%20Hinton_1%20%28web%20lead%29.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=JT9ttPwA)
Published: September 11, 2017
Experts and entrepreneurs from the ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ will have a heavy presence at this weekβs Elevate Toronto technology βfestivalβ β a new three-day event that showcases Torontoβs emerging status as a leading innovation hub.
The festival, which kicks off Tuesday, features a series of conferences and social events at venues across the city on topics that range from health-care innovation to financial technology and virtual reality.
One of the biggest draws is shaping up to be Wednesdayβs MaRS Discovery District conference on artificial intelligence, or AI, a fast-growing field where ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ has emerged as a global research leader.
The AI eventβs keynote address will be delivered by ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, a senior engineering fellow at Google who is known as the βgodfatherβ of deep learning, a branch of AI that uses layers of algorithms to mimic the human brain. Hintonβs research helped spark an AI revolution in recent years as companies race to incorporate the technology into everything from new drug discovery tools to self-driving cars.
One of those companies is ride-sharing giant Uber. Earlier this year, the Silicon Valley firm tapped ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ Associate Professor Raquel Urtasun, a star in the AI field of computer vision and machine perception, to head its new driverless car research lab in Toronto.
Urtasun (pictured below) is scheduled to deliver a talk September 12 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.
βElevate Toronto's keynote speakers and events showcase not only some of ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ's most outstanding innovators, but also sectors where we are leading the world,β said Derek Newton, ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟβs assistant vice-president of innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship.
Newton added the university is proud to play a key role in contributing to the cityβs broader innovation ecosystem, citing ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟβs world-class research and researchers, as well as a broad, multidisciplinary entrepreneurship program comprising many hubs and accelerators.
ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ has also been a founding partner of several leading innovation organizations, including MaRS Innovation, MaRS Discovery District, health incubator JLABS @ Toronto and the Centre for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine.
Most recently, ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ partnered with the federal and provincial governments, as well as industry, to launch the Vector Institute for artificial intelligence research.
βToronto is poised to become one of the leading technology startup hubs in the world thanks to our world class research, talent, and collaborative community of entrepreneurship hubs and innovation partners,β Newton said.
Other prominent ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ speakers at Elevate Torontoβs AI conference this week include:
β’ Sanja Fidler, an assistant professor in ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ's department of computer science who is an expert in computer vision
β’ Darin Graham, industry innovation director at the Vector Institute
β’ Tomi Poutanen, a ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ alum who is co-CEO and co-founder of Layer 6, which uses AI to improve recommendation engines
β’ Deepa Kundur, a professor in ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟβs Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
β’ Kristjan Sigurdson, an associate director at the Creative Destruction Lab at ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟβs Rotman School of Management and a Rotman PhD candidate
β’ Inmar Givoni, a ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ alum who is the director of machine learning at Kindred.ai, which seeks to develop human-like intelligence in machines
The university will also be represented at an Elevate health conference held at the Toronto Reference Library on Tuesday. Speakers with ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ connections include:
β’ Anna Goldenberg, a scientist in the genetics and genome biology program at SickKids Research Institute and an assistant professor at ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟβs computer science department
β’ Alexander Levy, a ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ alum who is co-founder and COO of Atomwise, a Silicon Valley based company that uses AI to help with drug discovery.
The festivalβs βworkβ conference, meanwhile, features an executive from Blue J Legal, a ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ startup co-founded by Professor Benjamin Alarie that uses AI to predict the outcome of tax law cases.
Eric Miller, a professor of civil engineering at ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ and the director of the ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ Transportation Institute, will be part of a Wednesday panel that discusses βDesigning the Toronto of the Future.β
Several of the other presenters at Elevate Torontoβs events are either ΟγΈΫΑωΊΟ²ΚΧΚΑΟ alumni or have ongoing connections to the university.
Elevate Toronto was first announced earlier this year. Dubbed a βgrassroots initiative,β the festival is a collaboration of technology organizations in partnership with the City of Toronto.