The iSchool is pleased to announce that Ismini Lourentzou will join the faculty as an assistant professor in January 2024. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and director of the Perception and LANguage (PLAN) Lab at Virginia Tech.
Lourentzou's primary research focus is multimodal machine learning, particularly the intersection of vision and language in settings with limited supervision, and its applications in embodied AI, healthcare, and other fields. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, and Amazon. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she served as a research scientist at IBM Research.
"I am very excited to return to my alma mater to continue my research on multimodal machine learning," said Lourentzou. "I look forward to contributing to the iSchool's vibrant interdisciplinary community by collaborating with colleagues both within the iSchool and across the university and engaging with students in a practical and impactful way."
Lourentzou earned her PhD in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her honors include the Tech College of Engineering Dean's Award for Excellence as an Outstanding New Assistant Professor.
"We are extremely proud of our School's expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science," said Dean and Professor Eunice E. Santos. "Ismini's work in building intelligent task assistants that augment human intelligence will enhance the School's research profile in these areas."