Lav Varshney appointed inaugural director of Stony Brook's AI Innovation Institute, effective August 1. Varshney most recently served on the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His background blends work in industry, academia, government, think tanks, and national laboratories. Varshney’s leadership is aimed at building on the university’s role as a core partner in Empire AI, New York State’s $250 million investment in AI and computing. He will also support further collaborations with industry and work to identify unexplored research areas.