Lakehead University recognized for AI research and publications

Lakehead University in Thunder Bay has been honoured for its artificial intelligence (AI) research.

Research Infosource named Lakehead as Canada's top research-intensive undergraduate university for AI research and publications, in its annual Top 50 Reseach Universities ranking.

"I was very pleased to hear that result," said Andrew Dean, Lakehead's vice-president of research and innovation.

"Maybe not totally unexpected, because I do believe our researchers very diverse and have lots of different, new ideas," he said. "Still has great recognition, and something that we can certainly build off of."

Research Infosource states Lakehead researchers had 201 AI-related publications from 2018-2022.

Second-place went to Ontario Tech University, with 171 AI-related publications in the same time period.

Dean said the research itself is varied, covering topics from language models to data storage.

"But then what was really interesting to me was the number of publications and the number of areas where AI is being used more as a research tool or being investigated as new opportunities," he said. "One example is a professor in engineering who's using AI to kind of help figure out where are the best places to charge an electric vehicle in Northwest Ontario."

"We all know that a lot of people want to buy electric vehicles, but they're quite concerned about where can I charge it, and especially if I go on a long trip, which does happen in Northwestern Ontario," Dean said. "This is a software that's being built which basically maps out ... the different places, and it relates to a trip as well."

"It's kind of like a bit like an Airbnb kind of thing for charging stations."

Another example, Dean said, is a computer science professor using AI to "figure out how to help robots be programmed to get around very cluttered areas, maybe like a hospital or nursing home, not so much from sight, but from tactile."

A Lakehead media release states the institution also ranked first in not-for-profit research income, and international government research income growth

The full listings can be found on Research Infosource's website.

In a statement, Lakehead President and Vice-Chancellor Gillian Siddall said the rankings highlight the talent and research capacity at the institution.

"Research and innovation is an important economic driver for the regions we serve and opens doors to collaboration, discovery and positive social progress," she stated. "It also offers opportunities for our students to be at the forefront of real-world, cutting-edge research, particularly in the area of AI, that will give them hands-on experience and practical skills that employers seek."