CDS Faculty Fellow Sebastian Schelter Appointed to Kickstart AI Platform

Delhaize and Philips recently announced the appointment of CDS’s Faculty Fellow Sebastian Schelter to the faculty of University of Amsterdam to participate in the Kickstart AI platform. Sebastian’s research focuses on the intersection of data management and machine learning, and his work at Delhaize will include managing large quantities of data and enabling the deployment of algorithmic solutions. As Sebastian’s time with CDS draws to a close, he spoke with us about his experience as a Faculty Fellow.

What was your journey to CDS’s Faculty Fellows program like?

Before joining CDS as a Faculty Fellow, I did my PhD at the intersection of Big Data Systems and ML at Technische Universitaet Berlin in Germany, and worked for three years as an Applied Scientist with Amazon Research in Berlin. I spent two summers as as intern with IBM Research and Twitter in California during my PhD and always wanted to come back to the US for one or two years afterwards. I am glad that NYU gave me the chance to fulfill this wish.

What were some of your favorite moments from your time in the program?

It’s hard to pick a single moment. I really enjoyed the academic freedom and the interdisciplinary atmosphere, which for example allowed me to attend both group meetings on computational social science with the political science department as well as meetings on deeply technical topics at the Tandon School of Engineering. I was also very happy that I could attend Prof. Julia Stoyanovich’s pioneering lecture on responsible data science and build up a research collaboration with her. Additionally, NYU supported me in hosting a visiting student from China and in designing and teaching a novel course on ‘data engineering for machine learning’.

What are you most excited about your future with Kickstart AI in Amsterdam?

I am very excited to explore a new kind of faculty position at the intersection of academia and industry. I strongly care about the applicability and impact of my research in the real world, and the position in Amsterdam provides me with the unique opportunity to immediately try out algorithms and systems on real world data in collaboration with our partner companies.

What will you miss most about CDS/NYC/NYU?

I will miss many things, mostly being in Greenwich Village in the heart of New York City, which sometimes feels like living in a movie ;)

by Mary Oliver