Who Is Anima Anandkumar? Caltech scientist on TIME’s ‘most influential people in AI’ list

Anima Anandkumar is a Caltech professor renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to artificial intelligence (AI) and her work in bridging AI with hard sciences. TIME magazine recently recognized her as one of the 100 most influential people in AI. Hailing from Mysore, India, Anandkumar's academic journey began at IIT Madras, where she earned a BTech in electrical engineering in 2004. She then went on to obtain her PhD from Cornell University in 2009, supported by an IBM Fellowship during her studies.

Following her PhD, Anandkumar embarked on an illustrious career in academia and industry. She first joined MIT as a postdoctoral researcher, where she focused on advancing machine learning and complex systems. Later, she became a Principal Scientist at Amazon Web Services, playing a pivotal role in the development and launch of Amazon SageMaker, a widely-used platform for machine learning applications.

In 2017, Anandkumar assumed a professorship at Caltech while also serving as Senior Director of AI Research at NVIDIA. Her research revolves around Neural Operators, a method that enables AI models to simulate physical processes across various scales, a feat previously requiring supercomputers. This innovative approach has been employed to expedite weather forecasting, design new medical devices, contribute to quantum computing, enhance computer chip manufacturing, and simulate nuclear fusion, a process that could revolutionize sustainable energy production.

Anandkumar's pioneering work has been applied to numerous fields, resulting in breakthroughs such as a catheter reducing bacterial contamination by 100 times, improved layouts for chip masks, and advancements in quantum dots for advanced computing. Her breakthroughs have been acknowledged by the IEEE Fellowship, the Alfred P Sloan Fellowship, and the NSF Career Award.

In March 2026, Anandkumar was appointed to the United Nations Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board, where she collaborates on shaping the UN's scientific agenda and advising on AI-related matters. Her focus is on ensuring that discussions surrounding AI remain grounded in scientific principles, particularly for nations in the Global South where misinformation about the technology is prevalent.

She emphasizes the potential of AI to enhance scientific discovery, particularly in areas like weather forecasting, climate research, and scientific exploration, rather than solely serving surveillance purposes.