Vinay is the Program Director at the Artificial Intelligence Center of SRI International (formerly known as Stanford Research Institute), one of the largest private research facilities in the U.S. He joined SRI in 1995, where he has played a pivotal role in creating and leading a team of research scientists and engineers specializing in areas such as reasoning, ontologies, human-computer interaction, and natural language processing.

 

Vinay’s technical expertise spans a range of advanced AI techniques, from knowledge representation and reasoning to natural language question answering and machine learning. His work focuses on creating innovative products that leverage these AI capabilities, including online learning environments, intelligent semantic search systems, and dialog-based intelligent assistants.

 

Notable projects Vinay has contributed to include:

• Inquire: An intelligent textbook designed to answer students’ questions, engage their interest, and enhance their understanding, contracted by Vulcan Inc., the company founded by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

• Ontology Concepts, Uses, and Evaluation: A project for Toyota focusing on the application of ontologies.

• AURA (Automated User-Centered Reasoning and Acquisition System): A system that uses AI to answer questions and solve problems in various scientific disciplines, contracted by Vulcan Inc.

• Project Halo: A staged research effort toward developing a Digital Aristotle, a system that provides accurate, domain-specific answers to novel questions, contracted by Vulcan Inc.

• CALO Query Manager: A system designed to integrate intelligent assistant components and provide a query answering service, contracted by DARPA.

• SHAKEN: A knowledge entry system for domain experts, contracted by DARPA.

• HPKB (High-Performance Knowledge Bases): A project aimed at accelerating the construction of knowledge bases, contracted by DARPA.

• Reusable Tools for Knowledge Base and Ontology Development: A system designed to support knowledge base browsing and editing, contracted by the US Air Force Research Labs.

 

In 2010-2011, Vinay served as a Visiting Lecturer of Computer Science at Stanford University. He currently serves on the editorial boards of AI Magazine and the Journal of Applied Ontology. He is also co-chair for the industry track at the International Semantic Web Conference. Vinay contributes to several academic conferences, including the Cognitive Systems Conference, AAAI Annual Conference, and the European Semantic Web Conference. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the International Association of Ontology and its Application, among other professional organizations.

 

Vinay has received numerous accolades, including the Best Demo Award at the 19th European Conference on Knowledge Engineering in 2014, the Best Video Award at the AAAI Video Competition in 2012, and the Senior Member Award from AAAI in 2014. He has also been awarded the University of Toronto Open Fellowship and the Connaught Fellowship.

 

He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and began his career in 1988 as an Analyst Programmer at Tata Consultancy Services.