Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines

Board of Directors

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dr. Kristinn R. Thórisson has been researching artificial intelligence for two decades, in academia and industry. His research centers on realtime interactive intelligences, complex cognitive systems and mind models. At MIT he pioneered new ideas in the area of communicative, multimodal intelligent agents. Recent projects include developing a cognitive architecture for the humanoid robot ASIMO by Honda Motor Corporation. He is the co-founder of CADIA, Iceland’s first AI lab, and Radar Networks, a Semantic Web company in San Francisco. He has taught advanced AI courses at Columbia University, KTH and Reykjavik University, and consulted for NASA and British Telecom, among others. Kris has authored numerous scientific papers and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Artificial General Intelligence and the LNCS Transactions on Computational Collective Intelligence.

• MIT website
• Reykjavik University website

Dr. Gísli Hjálmtýsson has over 25 years of experience as an innovator, entrepreneur and manager. He is currently the Managing Partner of Thule Investments, a venture capital company. Previously he was a Professor and Dean of Computer Science and Engineering at Reykjavik University. Mr. Hjálmtýsson has served on numerous boards, including SKÝRR, Voice Commerce Group, Siminn and CCP Games. He has also conducted research on the Internet and novel network services at AT&T Research at Bell Laboratories. He has held positions on the faculty of Columbia University, and University of Iceland and been a co-recipient on significant grants from EC, NSF, DARPA, with leading researchers from MIT, Dartmouth College, Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton and more. Gísli received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Deepa Iyengar (Reserve Board Member) holds an S.M. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT. Her research interests lie in electrophysiological methods and in the neurophysiology of habit learning. These are combined in MindGames, Ltd., a company which she co-founded and directs. MindGames has released the world’s first mind-controlled apps and games on iPhone and iPad, compatible with commercial EEG controllers. The games are controlled by the player’s levels of relaxation and concentration, enabling the practice of mindfulness as part of entertainment.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Dr. Stacy Marsella has been a Research Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, Associate Director for Social Simulation Research at the Institute of Creative Technologies and Co-Director of the USC Computational Emotion Group.

He leads projects on virtual humans, social simulation, interactive drama, emotions and theory of mind.

• USC website

Sigríður Ólafsdóttir, CEO at Akthelia Pharmaceuticals and independent consultant at SÓL Consultancy which provides technical and regulatory expertise in development of drugs and medical devices. Received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Her expertise lies in biotechnology, drug development, research and leadership. She currently is a member of the University Council of University of Iceland, on the Board of Nordic Innovation and University of Iceland Science Park.

Hlynur Halldórsson, graduated from the Law School of the University of Iceland in 1994. In year 1999 he received L.LM. degree from Queen Mary & Westfield College at University of London in Computer and Communications Law. He worked as an attorney for Iceland’s largest shipping company, Eimskip for several years before he became an associate and later a partner at LM Logmenn. Hlynur has been a partner of Landslog since July 2010. Hlynur’s main areas of expertise are technology law, copyright law, competition law, maritime law and banking law.

Þórunn Sigfúsdóttir has a strong background in computer science and software development. Since 2005 she has been working for Trackwell hf. in the areas of business development and service management. In previous years Þórunn has gained experience with start-up companies, having worked at several in the United States.

IIIM Advisory Board

Dr. Rosalind Picard, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory. She has served on dozens of international science committees and recently chaired the National Science Foundations Committee of Visitors for the Information and Intelligent Systems Division. She has also worked as a consultant for companies such as Apple, AT&T, BT, HP, iRobot, and Motorola.

Dr. Jörg Siekmann, Co-Founder & Scientific Director, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Dr. Siekmann was a founding Chairman of the German AI Society, a Fellow of the German Computer Science Society (GI), Chairman of the Collaborative Research Centre on Resource-Bounded Cognitive Processes, among others.

Dr. Ipke Wachsmuth, Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF); Chair, Artificial Intelligence, University of Bielefeld. Dr. Wachsmuth has a strong multidisciplinary publications in several fields, including cognitive learning research, intelligent tutoring systems, virtual reality and multimodal interaction. He is former president of the German Cognitive Science Society and is co-director of the Collaborative Research Center “Alignment in Communication.”

Dr. Finnur Oddsson, Managing Director, Iceland Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Oddsson works with many of Iceland’s largest organizations, public and private, in various capacities. Prior to his current post he was Director of MBA Programs at Reykjavik University, and Director of Executive Education and Assistant Professors.

Dr. Eythor Ivar Jonsson, DBA, CEO of Klak, Reykjavik, Iceland, directs one of he primary incubation outfits in Iceland. Before joining Klak he held an Associate Professor position at Copenhagen Business School. He is Chairman of the Board of over a dozen Danish companies.

Dr. Hannes H. Vilhjalmsson, Research Scientist, Center for Analysis and Design of Intelligent Agents. Associate Professor, School of Computer Science at Reykjavik University. Research focus on intelligent avatars and interactive virtual environments with emphasis on social interaction and collaboration. Co-founder, board-member and technical advisor of Alelo Inc. Former Research Scientist at the Center for Advanced Research on Technology for Education (CARTE) at USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI).

Dr. Yngvi Bjornsson, Co-Director, Center for Analysis and Design of Intelligent Agents, Reykjavik University. Associate Professor, School of Computer Science at Reykjavik University. Former research associate with the GAMES research group at University of Alberta, Canada. Main research interests are artificial intelligence (AI), specifically: informed search methods, learning of search-control, machine learning, and AI applied to computer games.