MFAI Workshop · Spring 2026
March 26, 2026 9:00AM—5:00PM
Location:
In Person
-
Carnegie Museum of Art Theater, 4400 Forbes Avenue, 15213
Speaker:
Frontiers of Flows for Generative AI
Mathematical Foundations of AI (MFAI) Workshop · Spring 2026 - Frontiers of Flows for Generative AI
Thursday, March 26, 9am – Friday, March 27, 2026, 5pm
A growing fraction of modern generative modeling can be viewed through a common lens: learning a flow that transports a simple distribution into the data distribution. This spans deterministic dynamics (including ODE-based flows) and stochastic dynamics (including diffusion and score models), with deep connections to ideas in optimal transport. This workshop brings together researchers working on the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of these models to explore the frontier of flows and generative modeling, and to identify key open problems that will drive the next generation of advances.
Topics include but are not limited to:
- Flow-based generative models (flow matching, diffusion/score models, and related formulations)
- Sampling and learning algorithms
- One-step and few-step models; distillation and consistency-style training
- Optimal transport perspectives
- Connections with other generative paradigms
- Discrete flow and diffusion models
- Applications including vision, text, multimodal modeling, and scientific settings
The workshop will consist of featured talks, lightning talks, and panel discussions on the frontiers of flows and generative AI. The goal is to surface emerging ideas and identify key open problems for the field.
Schedule
Thursday, March 26: Workshop Day 1 — 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
- 9:00 am - 9:30 am — Welcome / Networking
- 9:30 am - 10:30 am — Panel (kickoff): Frontiers of Flows & Generative AI
- 10:30 am - 11:15 am — Featured Talk 1 – Michael Albergo (Harvard)
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm — Featured Talk 2 – Mengyu Wang (Harvard)
- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm — Lunch
- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm — Featured Talk 3 – Andrej Risteski (CMU)
- 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm — Featured Talk 4 – Aditi Raghunathan (CMU)
- 3:30 pm - 3:45 pm — Break / Networking
- 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm — Featured Talk 5 – Danilo Comminiello (Sapienza University of Rome)
- 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm — Student lightning talks
Friday, March 26: Workshop Day 2 — 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
- 9:00 am - 10:00 am — Student lightning talks
- 10:00 am - 10:30 am — Coffee break
- 10:30 am - 11:15 am — Featured Talk 6 – Michal Balcerak (University of Zurich)
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm — Featured Talk 7 – Aviral Kumar (CMU)
- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm — Lunch
- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm — Featured Talk 8 – Sanjay Shakkottai (UT Austin)
- 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm — Featured Talk 9 – Yutong (Kelly) He (CMU)
- 3:30pm - 4:00 pm — Break/Networking
- 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm — Closing Panel: Open Problems + What's Next?
REGISTER | Additional Information