University of Minnesota Professor named to inaugural United Nations scientific panel on AI

Professor Vipin Kumar will serve as a U.S. representative on the international panel

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/16/2026) — University of Minnesota Twin Cities computer science and engineering Regents Professor Vipin Kumar has been named to the United Nations (UN) Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, the first global scientific body dedicated entirely to artificial intelligence and established by the UN General Assembly.

The panel’s role is to provide independent, evidence-based assessments of artificial intelligence (AI) and to inform global understanding of its opportunities, risks and societal impacts. It will serve as the UN’s authoritative scientific voice on AI.

Selected from more than 2,600 applications worldwide, the 40-member panel brings together a small group of globally recognized AI leaders spanning academia, industry, government, and the broader science–policy community. Among the nine members based at U.S. institutions, Kumar joins peers from Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Colorado and Washington University in St. Louis.

“Artificial intelligence is advancing at an extraordinary pace, with profound implications for science, economies and societies worldwide,” Kumar said. “I look forward to working with distinguished colleagues from around the world to deepen our collective understanding of AI’s opportunities and risks, and to help ensure that its development and deployment serve the broader global public good.”

Kumar, a professor in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, pioneered the integration of machine learning and data science into climate and Earth system science, helping establish data-driven approaches as a central pillar of modern environmental research. To overcome the limitations of conventional machine learning in complex environmental systems, he developed Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning, a framework that embeds scientific principles into modern AI to advance scientific discovery.

From 1998 to 2005, he directed the Army High Performance Computing Research Center at the University of Minnesota. At the time, the center was the Department of Defense’s largest extramural high-performance computing research program where Kumar led a major interdisciplinary research effort. He currently directs the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering’s Data Science Initiative and co-chairs the University-wide Data Science and AI Hub. Kumar’s work has been recognized by numerous prestigious honors that reflect the breadth of his contributions to research and education. 

"Professor Kumar’s expertise in artificial intelligence will be extremely valuable to the United Nations," said Andrew Alleyne, Dean of the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. "For more than three decades Vipin has been a leader in turning the Big Data and AI Revolution into reality. His work has created the tools that enable AI computing at scale, and his leadership has built recognition about how AI needs to be carefully guided and customized to match the needs of high-stakes applications."

The Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence was established within the United Nations by the UN General Assembly in August 2025. Its creation builds directly on the Global Digital Compact adopted in 2024 as part of the Pact for the Future, as well as on the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. 

Learn more about the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.