Born in Dresden, Dr Richard Socher is one of the few German pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in Silicon Valley. In his role as CEO of the AI-based search engine “you.com”, he is a visionary tech entrepreneur and internationally sought-after expert in the field of AI. As one of the pioneers in research into language processing using neural networks and deep learning, he laid the foundations for the current AI revolution in large-scale language models. His influence is also reflected in the more than 170,000 citations of his scientific publications. He is also actively involved in promoting AI education, particularly at his former secondary school in Dresden-Plauen. There, he played a key role in setting up the “SchülerInnovations Zentrums Richard Socher“, where pupils can acquire practical computer science and AI skills.

This makes Socher a perfect fit for the research environment at TU Dresden. On the one hand, as one of the nine centres of the National Supercomputing Centre, TU Dresden has created excellent opportunities for the implementation and further development of data-intensive and large-scale AI applications. This is also a unique selling point in the circle of AI competence centres in Germany, of which TU Dresden is one of just six. On the other hand, with regard to the alliance of excellence, innovation and responsibility in matters of digitalisation. Socher's commitment to his research and his company is also of great importance to SECAI and opens up the opportunity for further networking with experts worldwide.

“Today we are honouring an outstanding AI pioneer with Dresden roots, who will further shorten the distance between Silicon Saxony and Silicon Valley,” said Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden.

[cited from TU Dresden press release; Dresden AI Pioneer Richard Socher Awarded Honorary Doctorate]