Anima Anandkumar accelerates solutions to global challenges using AI. Her work includes leveraging AI for improved extreme weather prediction and sustainable nuclear fusion simulations to safely harness this energy source.
During her acceptance of a TIME100 AI Impact Award in Dubai on Monday, Anandkumar—a Caltech professor and former Nvidia AI research director—attributed her inspiration to her engineer parents. She highlighted her mother as a powerful role model, emphasizing her parents’ introduction of computerized manufacturing to their Indian hometown as formative to her perspective.
Anandkumar explained, “Growing up, I viewed computer programs not just as digital entities, but as tools impacting the physical world, creating precise metal components.” This perspective, she continued, has guided her two decades of AI research, focusing on bridging the physical and digital realms.
Anandkumar’s research hinges on neural operators—AI frameworks capable of multi-scale learning. These operators enable the creation of systems with “universal physical understanding,” simulating physical processes, designing innovative engineering solutions previously unattainable, and facilitating new scientific discoveries.
Discussing her 2022 collaborative project with Nvidia, Caltech, and other institutions, she described FourCastNet, an AI-powered high-resolution weather model built using neural operators. This model is significantly faster and often more accurate than traditional methods, particularly in predicting extreme weather events like heatwaves and hurricanes.
“Neural operators are accelerating progress toward resolving complex scientific problems,” she stated. After mentioning potential applications in drone and rocket design, sustainable nuclear reactors, and medical devices, she concluded, “This is only the beginning.”
The TIME100 AI Impact Awards Dubai was presented by the World Government Summit and the Museum of the Future.