Appointment of Dr. Alina Zare as Director of the UF Interdisciplinary Informatics and AI Research Institute

David Norton, Vice President for Research

UF Research is pleased to announce Dr. Alina Zare as director of the UF Interdisciplinary Informatics and AI Research Institute (IIAIRI), formerly known as the UF Informatics Institute, effective November 8, 2024.  Alina Zare received her Ph.D. from the Computer & Information Science & Engineering department at the University of Florida in 2008. Dr. Zare began her faculty career at the University of Missouri in 2010, returning to the University of Florida as an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in 2016.  Dr. Zare was promoted to Professor in 2020 and has been serving as the Associate Dean for Research and Facilities in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering since 2022.  Dr. Zare has had a successful research career focused on AI algorithm development applied to a wide range of applications from national defense to natural systems.

As Director of IIAIRI, Dr. Zare will lead this university-wide institute to facilitate and accelerate interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence, data science, and informatics across the entire University of Florida enterprise. The IIAIRI leverages existing strengths in data science, informatics, and artificial intelligence within each of our academic units, UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer, and unique partnerships with NVIDIA and other leading companies in AI and high-performance computing.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Zare on her new leadership role.