Caltech CAST partners with Abu Dhabi-based Institute for Technology Innovation

Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technology (CAST) and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have signed an agreement to begin a global strategic partnership to collaborate on key research priorities.

On December 15, Thomas F. Rosenbaum (left) and Ray O. Johnson (right) signed the cooperation agreement.

Through the three-year, multi-million dollar agreement, TII will provide financial support and collaborate with various Caltech faculty members in the areas of autonomous systems, quantum algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and propulsion systems Conduct joint research.

The partnership will also focus on sustainable technologies to address environmental challenges and will support the training and development of young researchers in the early stages of their careers. The collaboration aims to provide opportunities for individuals to exchange between the two institutes, and for new researchers to learn from some of the biggest names in their fields.

“Since launching CAST in 2017, we have pushed the boundaries of autonomous systems research. Through our collaboration with TII, we will push that boundary even further,” said Caltech’s Mory Gharib (PhD ’83), CAST’s Booth-Kresa Lead Chair and Professor Hans W. Liepmann of Aeronautical and Medical Engineering, and Director of GALCIT. While CAST will manage this relationship, the research supported through the partnership will extend beyond CAST and across the Institute.

All research projects under the partnership will be driven by real-world use cases. The quantum team will work on the development and optimized coding of new quantum algorithms and quantum neural networks, while the artificial intelligence research program will focus on the emerging topics of low-precision artificial intelligence and the development of new neural network models for energy-constrained edge devices. The biotech focus will be on advancing the cell therapy framework, and advancement experts will collaborate on abatement systems.

“Caltech is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and we are excited to partner with them on this type of pivotal research,” said TII CEO Ray O. Johnson. “Caltech has a global reputation for its relentless pursuit of excellence and top-notch research. This mindset is what we’ve adopted at TII, so I’m excited to see what the partnership will bring.”

The agreement between Caltech and TII was signed Dec. 15 by Johnson and Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics.