I am a faculty member at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, an associate professor (status-only) in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair. I have a broad set of interests within machine learning, but recently I am working on

  • Deep Generative Models (in particular Diffusion Models)
  • Alignment / Inference / Reasoning in Large Language Models
  • Variational Inference and Monte Carlo Methods
  • Optimization Methods for Neural Networks
  • Computational Optimal Transport
  • Intersection of Machine Learning with Information Theory

I completed my PhD (thesis) at the University of Toronto with Brendan Frey in 2017, where I was part of the Machine Learning Group. During my PhD, I interned for Google DeepMind in 2016, where I worked on developing deep reinforcement learning algorithms for the StarCraft II game (AlphaStar project); and Google Brain in 2015, where I developed Adversarial Autoencoders. I completed my Masters (thesis) at the University of Toronto in 2012, and received my Bachelor’s degree from Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, in 2010.

Office: Vector Institute, MaRS Centre
Email: makhzani AT vectorinstitute DOT ai

Selected Publications