CIFAR names seven new and renewed Canada CIFAR AI Chairs in $4.5M round

Who joins the network

The seven researchers will join the 149 Chairs already appointed at Canada's three National AI Institutes: Amii in Edmonton, Mila in Montréal and the Vector Institute in Toronto. According to CIFAR, the appointments reflect continued investment in both rising AI talent and established research leadership.

The new Chairs are Martin Ester of Simon Fraser University and Peter West of the University of British Columbia, both affiliated with Amii. Four more are linked to Mila: Felix Dangel of Concordia University, David Meger and AJung Moon of McGill University, and Eva Portelance of HEC Montréal. The renewed Chair is Amir-massoud Farahmand of Polytechnique Montréal, also at Mila.

Research areas

CIFAR says the cohort's work covers autonomous robotics and algorithmic governance, cognitive language models and core neural network optimization, as well as adaptive learning agents and generative molecular modeling for precision medicine.

• Martin Ester: machine learning frameworks with an emphasis on transfer learning, scientific AI agents for collaborative discovery, generative molecular modelling and precision medicine analytics.
• Peter West: the foundational capabilities, emergent properties and algorithmic constraints of large language models, with a focus on social intelligence and the systemic limits of reinforcement learning from human feedback alignment techniques.
• Felix Dangel: neural network optimization using second-order structural properties, such as loss landscape curvature, to build faster, more interpretable and computationally efficient learning algorithms.
• David Meger: physical AI and autonomous robotics through 3D spatial perception and sample-efficient reinforcement learning algorithms for adaptive behaviour and field deployment.
• AJung Moon: the intersection of robotics, ethics and human-robot interaction, including practical algorithmic governance frameworks and policy-relevant guidance for responsible autonomous systems.
• Eva Portelance: the intersection of AI, linguistics and cognitive science, using human computational language acquisition models to refine neural architectures and advance cognitive theories of learning.
• Amir-massoud Farahmand (renewed): the computational and statistical mechanisms needed to design efficient AI agents that interact with their environment and adaptively improve their long-term performance.

Funding and the AI for All strategy

The new Chairs are funded under Phase II of the national AI strategy. CIFAR says the Canada CIFAR AI Chairs program directly advances the vision of AI for All by attracting top global talent, fostering interdisciplinary breakthroughs and expanding research capacity nationwide.

Elissa Strome, Executive Director of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy at CIFAR, said the group represents "the exceptional talent driving Canada's continued global leadership in artificial intelligence." She added that continuing to invest in both emerging talent and established leaders "ensures our research network remains vibrant, collaborative and positioned to solve critical real-world challenges."

About the program and what comes next

CIFAR has worked with researchers and organizations across Canada since 1983 to advance the science of artificial intelligence. Under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy (2017-2026), CIFAR and the National AI Institutes Amii, Mila and Vector Institute built the research and talent foundation of Canada's AI ecosystem. The Chairs program was set up to advance the science of AI and its safe and responsible application in the real world.

The program currently supports 149 Chairs, with plans to expand to close to 200 under the AI for All Strategy. CIFAR describes it as the third highest-impact research cluster in AI in the world, graduating 250 highly-qualified trainees every year. CIFAR also leads the Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) Research Program alongside the Chairs program.

For the Canadian research community, the announcement signals that funding continues into the next phase of the national strategy, with a planned increase in the number of Chairs. The mix of topics, from robotics governance to language model alignment limits and molecular modelling, shows the range of work the program supports.