SkAI Colloquium
When:
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CT
Where:
Suite 3500 - Auditorium, 172 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, IL 60611
Webcast Link
(Hybrid)
Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students
Contact:
Aleksandra Ćiprijanović
aleksand@fnal.gov
Group: SkAI Institute
Category: Lectures & Meetings, Data Science & AI
Description:
The SkAI Institute will host a colloquium featuring Tom Downes, Member of Technical Staff at Microsoft AI.
Coffee and pastries will be provided prior to the event. Lunch will be provided afterwards.
Talk title: Supporting Research at Microsoft AI
Abstract: Microsoft AI builds the AI companion Copilot and models that power features in products such as Bing Image Creator and the Edge web browser. I will focus on the technical and collaborative challenges in building the infrastructure to train, test and and use models in a highly-competitive environment. I will compare my experiences at MAI and elsewhere in industry to my academic experience supporting the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
Register by Monday, May 11 at 12:00 p.m. at the link below.