MBZUAI celebrates faculty excellence at annual recognition reception - MBZUAI MBZUAI

MBZUAI celebrates faculty excellence at annual recognition reception

Saturday, October 04, 2025

MBZUAI has honored seven faculty members for their exceptional contributions to research, teaching, innovation, mentorship, service, and community at its annual Faculty Recognition and Welcome Reception.

The gathering, held to mark the start of the academic year, brought together faculty across the University to celebrate achievements that exemplify MBZUAI’s mission to advance AI in service of humanity.

Research with global impact

Associate Professor of Computer Vision, Salman Khan, received the Distinguished Research Award for his sustained, high-impact contributions to multimodal models for remote Earth observation. His work harnesses AI to advance weather prediction, agriculture, heat mapping, and disaster recovery – areas directly aligned with UAE and global priorities.

Professor Khan has built a formidable research portfolio in the past year, publishing at top venues such as CVPR, IJCV, T-PAMI, ICLR, and NeurIPS. His projects formed the basis of the two largest grants in MBZUAI’s history: AI4Weather, which is advancing the science of climate modeling, and the AI Global Agriculture Advisory, which will leverage AI to support food security worldwide. His proposal Climate Co-Pilot’s Agentic Pipeline was the only UAE project selected for funding by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in 2025, underscoring his international standing. His paper, AirCast: Improving Air Pollution Forecasting Through Multi-Variable Data Alignment, won Best Paper at the 2025 Terrabytes workshop, held alongside CVPR. Meanwhile, his mentorship continues to shape the next generation of researchers, with one of his students, Maaz, securing a prestigious Google Fellowship.

View Salman Khan’s profile.

The Early Career Researcher Award went to Assistant Professor of Natural Language Processing, Alham Fikri Aji, whose work in NLP has rapidly gained international recognition. With an H-index of 33 and five Best or Outstanding Paper Awards in the past three years, Dr. Aji has demonstrated exceptional productivity and scholarly impact.

He is a leading figure in low-resource NLP, organizing international workshops, giving invited talks, and serving on ACL SIG advisory boards for Southeast Asian languages and Widening NLP. His collaborations stretch across institutions and borders, reflecting MBZUAI’s global outlook. At the University, he has also played a key role in admissions and assessment, including for the new undergraduate program.

In the classroom, he has taught Data Science and Algorithms and coached MBZUAI’s undergraduate team for the prestigious International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC).

View Alham Fikri Aji’s profile.

Bridging research and innovation

Associate Professor of Machine Learning, Gus Xia, was presented with the Innovation and Technology Transfer Award for his pioneering research in Music AI, which has brought MBZUAI international visibility in both academic and artistic circles. Through collaborations with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF), Professor Xia and his team have demonstrated how AI can inspire new forms of creative expression.

Together with his students, he co-founded the startup Audiomatic, a venture that has already secured external grants and attracted a rapidly growing user base. His work exemplifies MBZUAI’s mission to transform groundbreaking research into real-world applications, building bridges between technology, industry, and culture.

View Gus Xia’s profile.

Mentorship, service, and community

The Excellence in Graduate Student Mentorship Award went to Assistant Professor of Machine Learning, Samuel Horváth, recognized for his dedication to guiding students through both academic and professional challenges. Feedback from students highlights his patient and approachable style, his commitment to detailed technical feedback, and his willingness to provide hands-on support.

Dr. Horváth is known for cultivating a supportive lab environment and encouraging students to pursue professional opportunities, whether through conferences, collaborations, or career connections. His approach embodies MBZUAI’s student-centered ethos and commitment to fostering future AI leaders.

View Samuel Horváth’s profile.

The Exemplary University Service Award was given to Assistant Professor of Computational Biology, Eduardo Beltrame, for his leadership in designing MBZUAI’s Computational Biology Master’s and Ph.D. programs, positioning MBZUAI at the forefront of AI-driven life sciences.

Beyond the classroom, he has pioneered initiatives such as BioLunch: a weekly forum where researchers share their work, which has become a cornerstone of the department’s intellectual and social life. Through workshops and community-building activities, he has fostered a vibrant, collaborative, and supportive academic environment that enriches the entire University community and beyond.

View Eduardo Beltrame’s profile.

Assistant Professor of Natural Language Processing, Yova Kementchedjhieva, received the Faculty Citizenship Award for her creative contributions to community and culture. She established the NLP Lunch Club, which now brings together more than 45 members for weekly discussions, and organized MBZUAI’s first-ever team in the Abu Dhabi Dragon Boat Festival, which drew participation from more than 50 students and researchers.

Dr. Kementchedjhieva has also helped cultivate a lively office culture, introducing initiatives ranging from department reading groups to wall art and a board game corner. Her efforts have made the University’s academic environment more collaborative, inclusive, and welcoming.

View Yova Kementchedjhieva’s profile.

Leadership for the public good

The University’s highest honor, the Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence, was presented to Department Chair and Professor of Computational Biology, Eran Segal, for his leadership in establishing the School of Digital Public Health and for spearheading the HPP initiative. His contributions reflect MBZUAI’s vision of AI as a driver of global public good.


View Eran Segal’s profile.

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  7. community ,
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