The NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI)
The NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI, pronounced /aɪ-faɪ/) is one of the inaugural NSF AI research institutes. The IAIFI is advancing physics knowledge – from the smallest building blocks of nature to the largest structures in the Universe – and galvanizing AI research innovation. The IAIFI is a collaboration of both physics and AI researchers at MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Tufts. Learn more about our research at the Physics/AI intersection and about our IAIFI Fellows program.
IAIFI Jobs
Applications are open for the 2024–2027 IAIFI Fellowship: Our fourth round of the IAIFI Fellowship search is now open. Apply on AJO by October 10, 2023.
IAIFI Events
View our full events calendar for all upcoming events.
The next IAIFI Colloquium will be held on Friday, October 13, 2023 with François Lanusse (Researcher, CNRS). Recordings of our previous hybrid colloquium series are available to view on our YouTube channel.
IAIFI will be at the Cambridge Science Festival! Join us on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 for a lunch and learn on Ethics in AI and Art; then come see us at the carnival on Sunday, October 1, 2023 to interact with a virtual physicist created using generative AI!
IAIFI News
For an archive of IAIFI news, see our news page. To receive periodic announcements about IAIFI-related activities, sign up for our mailing list and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
On July 21, 2023, many IAIFI Senior Investigators, Fellows, postdocs, and students presented at The Impact of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models on Physics Research and Education. Watch Workshop recordings. September 19, 2023
Max Tegmark, MIT Professor of Physics and IAIFI Senior Investigator, featured on the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI. Read Max’s feature. September 7, 2023
Nabil Laoudji writes about his experience at the 2023 IAIFI Summer Worskhop. Read Nabil’s post on LinkedIn, where he shares his experience attending the 2023 IAIFI Summer Workshop. August 29, 2023
Philip Harris, MIT Assistant Professor and IAIFI Senior Investigator, earns MIT Teaching With Digital Technology Award: The student-nominated award recognizes Phil for effectively using digital technology to improve teaching and learning at MIT. Read about the 2023 winners. June 21, 2023
Marisa LaFleur, IAIFI Project Manager, awarded MIT Infinite Mile Award: The award recognizes Marisa’s dedication and contribution to the School of Science and to IAIFI. Read about the 2023 winners. May 15, 2023
Justin Solomon, MIT Associate Professor and IAIFI Affiliate, named Edgerton Award winner: The award recognizes Justin’s exceptional distinction in teaching, research, and service at MIT. Read MIT Newsletter profile on Justin Solomon. April 19, 2023
Brian Nord, MLK Scholar and IAIFI Visitor, featured in MIT News: Read “Understanding our place in the universe”. April, 12, 2023
Pulkit Agrawal featured in MIT News: IAIFI Senior Investigator Pulkit Agrawal, and collaborators Gabriel Margolis and Yandong Ji have developed a legged robotic system that can dribble a soccer ball under the same conditions as humans. “Our goal in developing algorithms for legged robots is to provide autonomy in challenging and complex terrains that are currently beyond the reach of robotic systems.” April 3, 2023
Brian Nord, MLK Scholar, interviewed for MIT’s Institute Community & Equity Office: Watch Brian discuss Artificial Intelligence and social advocacy. February, 8, 2023
Lina Necib recognized as a rising star in astronomy by Astronomy magazine: Read Astronomy magazine’s profile on Lina Necib as part of their rising stars in astronomy issue. January, 3, 2023
IAIFI sponsors the Machine Learning and the Physical Sciences workshop: IAIFI was pleased to sponsor the Machine Learning and the Physical Sciences workshop at NeurIPS 2022 and to see many IAIFI researchers present papers. View papers from IAIFI researchers at the workshop. December 3, 2022
Jesse Thaler provides insight on the potential of AI for physics discovery: Read “Will artificial intelligence ever discover new laws of physics?” November 21, 2022
Matt Schwartz publishes editorial on AI interpretability in Nature Physics: Read “Should artificial intelligence be interpretable to humans?” by IAIFI Senior Investigator Matt Schwartz. November 2, 2022
Jesse Thaler named American Physical Society Fellow for 2022: APS honored IAIFI Director and MIT Professor of Physics, Jesse Thaler, was selected as an APS Fellow “for original foundational research contributions, leadership, and mentoring in the area of machine learning for fundamental physics. October 27, 2022
Lina Necib receives 2023 APS Valley Prize: IAIFI Senior Investigator and MIT Assistant Professor of Physics, Lina Necib, was recognized with the 2023 Valley Prize for Dark Matter, which recognizes “an early-career individual for an outstanding contribution to physics that is deemed to have significant potential for a dramatic impact on the field.” Lina was chosen for “the discovery of a massive, previously unknown stellar structure that may have shaped the history of the Milky Way, and the development of groundbreaking new methods to study our Galaxy’s dark matter halo and growth history.” October 17, 2022
IAIFI participates in the 2022 Cambridge Science Festival! IAIFI hosted a robot demonstration and a galaxy zoo demonstration for the Cambridge Science Festival at both an Open Lab event on Thursday, October 6, 2022 and at the Carnival on Sunday, October 9, 2022. Learn more about what we shared. October 9, 2022
Tracy Slatyer and Jesse Thaler receive Simons Investigator awards: Read more about their work recognized by the program, which supports “outstanding theoretical scientists in their most productive years, when they are establishing creative new research directions, providing leadership to the field, and effectively mentoring junior scientists.” June 24, 2022
Dan Roberts publishes book on deep learning theory: Learn more about the new book The Principles of Deep Learning Theory by IAIFI Affiliate Dan Roberts and his collaborators Sho Yaida and Boris Hanin. May 26, 2022
Serhii Kryhin receives MIT’s Morse/Orloff Research Award: IAIFI Junior Investigator and MIT senior in physics Serhii Kryhin was recognized with the Morse/Orloff Research Award, which is “awarded to a senior of high academic standing in physics who plans to pursue graduate studies in physics.” May 25, 2022
Jesse Thaler joins CACM and AI Institute leaders for virtual panel discussion: Watch the virtual panel discussion hosted by Communications of the ACM on February 1, 2022 to discuss how science and AI are transforming each other, featuring IAIFI Director Jesse Thaler, Anima Anandkumar (NVIDIA Director of ML Research), Vikram Adve (Director, AIFARMS National AI Institute), and Amy McGovern (Director, NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography). March 29, 2022
IAIFI researchers’ model-free reinforcement learning system breaks the record for fastest robotic mini cheetah run recorded: Featured in MIT News and NSF Science Now, IAIFI Fellow Ge Yang, Senior Investigator Pulkit Agrawal, and collaborator Gabriel Margolis trained the robot in simulation under variable conditions, which made it more robust when deployed in the real world—a strategy expected to be relevant for making real-time adjustments in the operation of experiments to maximize the physics reach. March 22, 2022
IAIFI welcomes UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Advanced Computing (AIMLAC): IAIFI hosted 15 AIMLAC students and faculty for an informal workshop March 2 through March 4, 2022, where the two groups shared research and education strategies, and had opportunities for networking. March 4, 2022