MaLGa Colloquia - Centaur Science: Adventures in AI+Physics

Title

MaLGa Colloquia - Centaur Science: Adventures in AI+Physics

Speaker

Jesse Thaler - MIT/IAIFI

Abstract

The mythical centaur (half human, half horse) has become a metaphor for human-AI collaboration. In this talk, I explore what centaur science looks like at the intersection of artificial intelligence and fundamental physics. I share adventures from both directions of this exchange: teaching machines to "think like a physicist" by incorporating physics principles into machine learning frameworks, and teaching physicists to "think like a machine" to maximize discovery opportunities in both experimental and theoretical physics.

Bio

Professor Thaler is a theoretical particle physicist who fuses techniques from quantum field theory and machine learning to address outstanding questions in fundamental physics. His research centers on maximizing the discovery potential of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) through the development of new theoretical frameworks and novel data analysis techniques. He is a recognized expert in the physics of jets—collimated sprays of particles produced in high-energy collisions—and studies jet substructure to enhance the search for new phenomena and illuminate the dynamics of gauge theories.

At MIT, Professor Thaler is a Professor of Physics in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics — a Leinweber Institute (CTP-LI) and a member of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science. He is also the inaugural Director of the NSF Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI), an institute dedicated to advancing physics knowledge while pushing the frontiers of machine learning.

When

Wednesday, May 13th, 14:00

Where

Aula Magna, UniGe DIFI, Via Dodecaneso 33