The AAAI Fellows Program is one of the organization’s most well-recognized initiatives. Every year, the organization spotlights a select group of AI researchers doing impactful work.
At Northeastern University, professor Raymond Fu leads the Synergetic Media Learning Lab, an AI research hub where he and his team analyze big data sets to solve real-world problems.
Through his work at the lab, Fu has been able to spin out several technology companies, including Giaran Inc., which uses machine learning to allow users to try on cosmetic products from the comfort of their home. The company was eventually sold to a multinational Japanese beauty company, Shiseido, in 2017.
Fu’s work was recently recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), which named him a 2025 fellow.
Fu was selected by AAAI for his “significant contributions to transformative technology innovation in computer vision, augmented human-machine interaction, and leadership in AI technology commercialization.”
“It’s a great honor for me,” says Fu, who has dual appointments in the College of Engineering and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences. “AAAI is the most prestigious association for artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is very popular right now. Being selected to be a fellow in this society raises a lot of attention in the research community.”
The association is a nonprofit society “devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.”
Since its founding in 1976, the AAAI has spearheaded programs and activities designed to help drive the industry forward, including conferences, educational workshops, grants and scholarships.
The AAAI Fellows Program is one of the organization’s most well recognized initiatives. Every year, the organization spotlights a select group of AI researchers doing impactful work.
Other startups that have come out of Fu’s lab include AInnovation Labs, which develops lightweight AI deep learning models that can be run on-device rather than on the cloud, and bitHuman, which is working to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) technologies.
“The AI world is definitely hot right now,” he says. “As AI researchers, our goal is not only creating new technologies, we also have a responsibility to make sure that the AI is used in the right way. The community is going to work closely with the government to ensure the technology is safely used in the future.”
AAAI will celebrate the newly elected fellows at the AAAI-25 awards ceremony at 8:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 27, in Philadelphia.