We are pleased to announce the inaugural MLCommons Rising Stars cohort of 35 early-to-late-stage and recently graduated PhD students working at the intersection of Machine Learning (ML) and Systems research. These promising researchers, drawn from over 100 applicants from dozens of global universities, stand out for their current and future contributions and potential.

The MLCommons Rising Stars program provides a unique platform for a diverse range of emerging researchers to present their research to industry and academic experts, build new skills, and establish academic and industry collaborations. The program aims to promote diversity in the ML and systems research community, seeking out researchers from historically underrepresented gender, racial, geographic, and socioeconomic groups.

We are committed to promoting the growth of our Rising Stars. The initiative provides ways for the cohort to engage with industry and academic experts from MLCommons members, explore research opportunities, gain new skillsets, and network within academic, industry, and other professional settings. This effort includes a Rising Stars workshop at Google in August, where the cohort will showcase their work and connect with MLCommons members across academia and industry.

“MLCommons is thrilled to lend our support to the Rising Stars program. This initiative not only fuels our passion for nurturing emerging talent, but also reinforces our commitment to advancing the field of machine learning. By building a diverse community of young ML and systems researchers, we are investing in the future of AI innovation, and can’t wait to see the contributions that these bright minds will deliver to the machine learning community,” said Vijay Janapa Reddi, MLCommons Research Chair.

We extend our warmest congratulations to this year’s Rising Stars and express our gratitude to everyone who applied or provided a referral.

We would like to thank the Rising Star organizers Udit Gupta, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell Tech, Abdulrahman Mahmoud, Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, Lillian Pentecost, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Amherst College, and the rest of the organizing committee for their help creating the Rising Stars initiative and selecting an impressive inaugural cohort of recipients.