Speaker Bio:
Professor Lingjia Tang is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in artificial intelligence (AI), computer systems, and conversational AI. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Computer Science from Zhejiang University. Prof. Tang’s research interests span computer architecture, compiler technologies, runtime systems, and distributed systems. Her work focuses on building the next generation of computer systems that are faster, smarter, and more efficient, particularly for AI applications and conversational AI platforms. She has authored over 40 research papers in top-tier computer science conferences and has made substantial contributions to the field. Her research excellence has been acknowledged through several prestigious awards, including the Google Research Award, Facebook Research Award, NSF CAREER Award, and JPMC Faculty Research Award. Her impact on the academic community is further evidenced by over 8,600 citations, an h-index of 38, and an i10-index of 63. Since 2020 alone, her work has received over 5,200 citations. She is also listed in the Hall of Fame of leading computer architecture conferences such as ISCA and MICRO, highlighting her strong influence in the field. Beyond academia, Prof. Tang is a successful entrepreneur. She co-founded Clinc, a conversational AI company, where she led teams in designing and deploying large-scale AI systems, such as the mobile virtual assistant for U.S. Bank, which benefited over six million users. This effort earned several industry recognitions, including Frost & Sullivan’s Technology Leadership Award (2019), Gartner's Cool Vendor (2021), and Crain’s 40 Under 40. She later co-founded Myca.ai, a platform that uses AI to help individuals enhance their productivity and personal growth. In addition, she has contributed to real-world AI projects, such as a financial wellness application developed in collaboration with Pocketnest, further showcasing the practical impact of her research.

Models that Make Sense: Human-Aligned Evaluation and Retrieval in the Age of AI

Abstract:
As large language models (LLMs) become integral to decision-making tasks, from summarizing medical records to answering policy questions, their evaluation and usage must reflect human preferences. This talk traces the lifecycle of a model, from evaluation and selection to deployment in real-world applications. We’ll examine two core challenges: evaluation methods that often produce inconsistent or misleading rankings, and retrieval systems that organize knowledge in overly linear ways, misaligned with how humans reason across connected concepts. We’ll explore recent advances that aim to align evaluation with human judgment and make retrieval more structurally aware and efficient. These developments reflect a broader shift: moving beyond benchmark scores toward systems that reason, retrieve, and rank in ways that make sense to people, ultimately building AI that is more trustworthy, usable, and aligned with human needs.

Speaker Bio:
Professor Jason Mars is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Michigan, a former faculty member at the University of California, San Diego, and a distinguished entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia and has conducted research at both Google and Intel. He currently serves as President of Jaseci Labs and Co-founder of Myca.ai, and is widely recognized for his contributions to AI and large-scale computing systems. At the University of Michigan, Prof. Mars leads Clarity Lab, one of the most active and productive research groups in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and programming languages. He is the creator of Jaseci and Jac, an open-source AI framework and programming language designed to streamline the development of complex generative AI applications. These technologies have already been adopted by platforms such as Myca.ai, Tobu Life, and ZeroShotBot. Beyond academia, Prof. Mars is a successful entrepreneur whose ventures have provided AI-driven solutions to over 20 million users across sectors, including banking, healthcare, automotive, and food services. He has raised over $62 million in venture capital funding, with his companies reaching valuations exceeding $200 million. His achievements have earned him numerous awards, including being named the #2 Most Innovative CEO in Banking (2017), #4 in the Top 11 Technologists in Voice AI (2019), Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 (2019), and recipient of the prestigious CARAH Award. He is also the bestselling author of Breaking Bots, a book that offers critical insights into the evolution of AI while sharing his personal journey as a researcher, innovator, and entrepreneur.

From Generative to Agentic: The Quiet Revolution Transforming How We Build AI-Powered Software

Abstract:
The generative AI boom captivated the world—but a deeper, more profound shift is now underway. In this keynote, we explore the rise of Agentic AI: a paradigm that transcends content generation and redefines how intelligent software is built, composed, and deployed. This talk traces the arc from pretraining breakthroughs and zero-shot generalization to the rise of prompt engineering—and now, to the dawn of agents that reason, plan, and act autonomously. Why is Agentic AI emerging as the new frontier? Because it signals a pivot away from requiring deep machine learning expertise to build intelligent systems. Instead, we’re witnessing the democratization of AI development—where software engineers, designers, and domain experts can compose powerful capabilities using natural language, declarative workflows, and tool-integrated agents. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of what Agentic AI is (and what it’s not), how it builds on the foundations of generative AI, and why it's poised to fundamentally reshape the software development stack. We'll unpack the enabling trends, survey leading architectures and toolchains, and look ahead to what the next wave of software creation looks like—less about writing code, more about orchestrating intelligence.

Speaker Bio:
Prof. Sarath Perera is currently an Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, and a member of the Australian Power Quality Research Centre (APQRC). He was formerly the Technical Director of the APQRC and has played a key role in shaping industry-relevant power quality research activities. He received his BSc (Eng) specialising in Power Systems from the University of Moratuwa, followed by an MEngSc from the University of New South Wales and a Ph.D. from the University of Wollongong. Since 1988, he has been an academic at the University of Wollongong and has actively contributed to CIGRE, the International Council on Large Electric Systems, furthering advancements in power system security and, in particular, power quality. His research interests include voltage fluctuations and flicker, voltage unbalance, harmonics, power system modeling and simulation, and power quality standards development.

Connection of Renewable Energy Sources to Electricity Grids: Some Australian Experiences

Abstract:
Australia, like many other forward-thinking nations is going through significant transformations in its energy sector. This is driven by the ambitious decarbonisation targets and the integration of renewable energy sources to the electricity grid. The next decade will see substantial retirement of conventional rotating synchronous generators (mainly fossil fuel based) considering the aging infrastructure, economic pressures and evolving climate policies. The integration of renewable energy sources to Australia’s eastern electricity grid which is one of the longest electricity grids in the world operated by the National Electricity Market is faced with many technical, regulatory and operational challenges. The aim of this talk is to explore some of the problems faced and associated experiences and examine at a high level how the challenges faced are addressed.