AI research network connects leading universities across northern Bavaria as part of the European ELLIS initiative
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming science, technology and society. To strengthen Europe’s role in this field, the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) was founded in 2018 as a pan-European network for excellence in AI research. With the newly established ELLIS Unit Franconia, the region is now becoming part of this leading European initiative.
The new ELLIS Unit Franconia brings together AI expertise from across northern Bavaria, uniting Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the University of Würzburg, the University of Technology Nuremberg, Otto-Friedrich University Bamberg and the University of Bayreuth. Officially, the unit is coordinated by the University of Würzburg, the University of Technology Nuremberg and FAU.
The unit’s directors are Florian Marquardt (FAU/Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light), Radu Timofte (University of Würzburg) and Wolfram Burgard (University of Technology Nuremberg).
“I am excited that the strength of the region in AI research has been recognized by establishing the ELLIS Unit Franconia,” says Florian Marquardt. “The Unit brings together a diverse network of scientists covering a broad spectrum, from medical AI to foundation models and ethical AI. While FAU is a strong player in all these fields, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, we have been spearheading AI for science in the realm of quantum physics, as well as neuromorphic computing, where the hope is to replace today’s power-hungry digital neural networks with more energy-efficient, physics-based solutions.”
The new unit is expected to further strengthen interdisciplinary AI research and collaboration across the region. Several researchers from FAU contributed to establishing the ELLIS Unit Franconia, including Andreas Maier, Bernhard Kainz, Franziska Mathis-Ullrich, Bernhard Egger and Dario Zanca.