Yann LeCun
Encyclopedia
Yann LeCun is a computer science researcher
with contributions in machine learning
, computer vision
, mobile robotics and computational neuroscience
. He is well known for his work on optical character recognition
and computer vision
using convolutional neural networks. He is also one of the main creators of the DjVu
image compression technology (together with Léon Bottou
and Patrick Haffner). He co-developed the Lush programming language with Léon Bottou
.
, France
, in 1960. He received a Diplôme d'Ingénieur from the Ecole Superieure d'Ingénieur en Electrotechnique et Electronique (ESIEE), Paris in 1983, and a PhD in Computer Science from Université Pierre et Marie Curie
in 1987 during which he proposed an early form of the back-propagation learning algorithm for neural networks. He was a postdoctoral research associate in Geoffrey Hinton
's lab at the University of Toronto
.
In 1988, he joined the Adaptive Systems Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey
, USA, where he developed a number of new machine learning methods, such as a biologically inspired model of image recognition called Convolutional Neural Networks, the "Optimal Brain Damage" regularization methods, and the Graph Transformer Networks method (similar to conditional random field
), which he applied to handwriting recognition and OCR. The bank check recognition system that he helped develop was widely deployed by NCR and other companies, reading over 10% of all the checks in the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1996, he joined AT&T Labs
-Research as head of the Image Processing Research Department, which was part of Lawrence Rabiner
's Speech and Image Processing Research Lab, and worked primarily on the DjVu
image compression technology, used by many websites, notably the Internet Archive
, to distribute scanned documents. His collaborators at AT&T include Léon Bottou
and Vladimir Vapnik
.
After a brief tenure as a Fellow of the NEC Research Institute (now NEC-Labs America) in Princeton, NJ, he joined New York University
(NYU) in 2003, where he is Silver Professor of Computer Science Neural Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science and the Center for Neural Science. At NYU, he has worked primarily on Energy-Based Models for supervised and unsupervised learning, feature learning for object recognition in Computer Vision
, and mobile robotics.
Yann LeCun is general chair and organizer of the "Learning Workshop" held every year since 1986 in Snowbird, Utah. He is a member of the Science Advisory Board of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics
at UCLA, and a scientific adviser of KXEN Inc.
, and Vidient Systems.
with contributions in machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
, computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
, mobile robotics and computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system...
. He is well known for his work on optical character recognition
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
and computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
using convolutional neural networks. He is also one of the main creators of the DjVu
DjVu
DjVu is a computer file format designed primarily to store scanned documents, especially those containing a combination of text, line drawings, and photographs. It uses technologies such as image layer separation of text and background/images, progressive loading, arithmetic coding, and lossy...
image compression technology (together with Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou is a researcher best known for his work in machine learning and data compression. His work presents stochastic gradient descent as a fundamental learning algorithm. He is also one of the main creators of the DjVu image compression technology , and the maintainer of , the open source...
and Patrick Haffner). He co-developed the Lush programming language with Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou is a researcher best known for his work in machine learning and data compression. His work presents stochastic gradient descent as a fundamental learning algorithm. He is also one of the main creators of the DjVu image compression technology , and the maintainer of , the open source...
.
Life
Yann LeCun was born near ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1960. He received a Diplôme d'Ingénieur from the Ecole Superieure d'Ingénieur en Electrotechnique et Electronique (ESIEE), Paris in 1983, and a PhD in Computer Science from Université Pierre et Marie Curie
Pierre and Marie Curie University
The Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
in 1987 during which he proposed an early form of the back-propagation learning algorithm for neural networks. He was a postdoctoral research associate in Geoffrey Hinton
Geoffrey Hinton
Geoffrey Hinton is a British born informatician most noted for his work on the mathematics and applications of neural networks, and their relationship to information theory.-Career:...
's lab at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
In 1988, he joined the Adaptive Systems Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, USA, where he developed a number of new machine learning methods, such as a biologically inspired model of image recognition called Convolutional Neural Networks, the "Optimal Brain Damage" regularization methods, and the Graph Transformer Networks method (similar to conditional random field
Conditional random field
A conditional random field is a statistical modelling method often applied in pattern recognition.More specifically it is a type of discriminative undirected probabilistic graphical model. It is used to encode known relationships between observations and construct consistent interpretations...
), which he applied to handwriting recognition and OCR. The bank check recognition system that he helped develop was widely deployed by NCR and other companies, reading over 10% of all the checks in the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 1996, he joined AT&T Labs
AT&T Labs
AT&T Labs, Inc. is the research & development division of AT&T, where scientists and engineers work to understand and advance innovative technologies relevant to networking, communications, and information. Over 1800 employees work in six locations: Florham Park, NJ; Middletown, NJ; Austin, TX;...
-Research as head of the Image Processing Research Department, which was part of Lawrence Rabiner
Lawrence Rabiner
Lawrence R. Rabiner is an electrical engineer working in the fields of digital signal processing and speech processing; in particular in digital signal processing for automatic speech recognition...
's Speech and Image Processing Research Lab, and worked primarily on the DjVu
DjVu
DjVu is a computer file format designed primarily to store scanned documents, especially those containing a combination of text, line drawings, and photographs. It uses technologies such as image layer separation of text and background/images, progressive loading, arithmetic coding, and lossy...
image compression technology, used by many websites, notably the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, to distribute scanned documents. His collaborators at AT&T include Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou
Léon Bottou is a researcher best known for his work in machine learning and data compression. His work presents stochastic gradient descent as a fundamental learning algorithm. He is also one of the main creators of the DjVu image compression technology , and the maintainer of , the open source...
and Vladimir Vapnik
Vladimir Vapnik
Vladimir Naumovich Vapnik is one of the main developers of Vapnik–Chervonenkis theory. He was born in the Soviet Union. He received his master's degree in mathematics at the Uzbek State University, Samarkand, Uzbek SSR in 1958 and Ph.D in statistics at the Institute of Control Sciences, Moscow in...
.
After a brief tenure as a Fellow of the NEC Research Institute (now NEC-Labs America) in Princeton, NJ, he joined New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(NYU) in 2003, where he is Silver Professor of Computer Science Neural Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science and the Center for Neural Science. At NYU, he has worked primarily on Energy-Based Models for supervised and unsupervised learning, feature learning for object recognition in Computer Vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
, and mobile robotics.
Yann LeCun is general chair and organizer of the "Learning Workshop" held every year since 1986 in Snowbird, Utah. He is a member of the Science Advisory Board of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics
Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics
The Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics is an American mathematics institute funded by the National Science Foundation. The initial funding for the institute was approved in May 1999 and it was inaugurated in August, 2000....
at UCLA, and a scientific adviser of KXEN Inc.
KXEN Inc.
' is revolutionizing the way companies use to make better decisions. Based on patented innovations, the company's flagship product, ', delivers orders of magnitude improvements in speed and agility to optimize every step in the ' – including acquisition, cross-sell, up-sell, retention and next...
, and Vidient Systems.