WASP Researcher of the Month - December
Within WASP Lighthouse we will highlight a researcher each month.
Researcher of the Month for December is Pedro Zuidberg dos Martirez, Associate Senior Lecturer in Computer Science. Pedro recently received 4.8 million SEK from the Swedish Research Council to spend four years exploring how the principles of quantum physics can be used to develop next-generation machine learning models.
We asked him to answer a few questions, to get to know him and his research.
Describe your research in one sentence.
I work in a specific are of artificial intelligence, called neuro-symbolic AI, where we combine data-driven techniques with model-based aproaches.
What do you hope your research will lead to?
You always hope that the thing you are working on currently will lead to the next breakthrough in the field and open up new research areas. But personally, I would already be happy if the results of my research are useful to other researchers for their own work. In the end science is a communal activity.
What is the most unexpected result you’ve had so far?
Recently, I figured out a connection between machine learning and quantum computing. This was exciting because it allowed me to combine my knowledge from my undergraduate studies (in physics) with the things I learned as a computer scientist.
If you could collaborate with anyone in the worlds, who would it be and why?
Note sure, maybe Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind. He seems to have a nag for really interesting problems that are super tough to solve but at the same time achievable.
What do you do when you’re not researching?
At the moment I am spending quite some time learning Swedish. I started reading a graphic novel about a triple murder in Klippan, Skåne.
Thank you Pedro!