PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Aleix M. Martínez

Also known as Aleix Martinez, Aleix M. Martinez

Aleix M. Martínez is a computer-vision researcher whose work studies how machines can interpret faces, expressions and signs. He earned two PhDs in 1998, modeled links between face recognition and expression perception, and later studied compound emotions and expression-recognition algorithms in the wild. His research also examined the “Not Face” used in American Sign Language, neural-network evaluation and text-to-image assessment. As of October 2026, he teaches AI adoption to executives after academic work at Ohio State and an AI leadership role at Amazon.

Works
160
Links
Website

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 1998

    Two PhDs

    He earns two PhDs in 1998, one from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and one from Université Paris VIII.

  2. 2003

    Modeling face perception

    In 2003, as an Ohio State assistant professor, he models how the brain recognizes familiar faces and facial expressions.

  3. 2014

    Compound-emotion categories

    In 2014, his Ohio State group studies compound-emotion categories of facial expression.

  4. 2016

    The Not Face in ASL

    In 2016, he discusses how signers sometimes use a facial expression called the Not Face in place of the manual ASL sign for “not.”

  5. 2017

    EmotioNet Challenge

    In 2017, he coauthors the EmotioNet Challenge paper, which tests computer-vision algorithms on facial expressions in images captured in the wild.

  6. 2020

    CVPR Best Paper finalist

    In 2020, he and his team reach the CVPR Best Paper finals with “Computing the Testing Error without a Testing Set.”

  7. 2025

    Evaluating text-to-image models

    In 2025, he coauthors GenomeBench, which gathers guided human assessments and scores text-to-image quality and alignment with text.

  8. As of October 2026

    Teaching AI to executives

    As of October 2026, he teaches a course on AI adoption for executives, after serving as an AI executive at Amazon and a professor at Ohio State.

Career

  1. Ohio State UniversityAssistant Professor
  2. AmazonAI executive

Education

  1. 1998Autonomous University of BarcelonaPhD
  2. 1998Université Paris 8PhD

From the biography.

  1. 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a companyIncludes Aleix M. Martínez. We estimate that 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a company; 29% of moves starting at a university went to a company, and 76% ended the university role.
  2. Among employers with 30+ full-time cases, OpenAI leads primary technical role H-1B pay at $310,000, and Amazon, Google and Microsoft file 57% of all casesIncludes Amazon. Across 440,669 certified US H-1B filings from 44 employers (FY2020–FY2026), OpenAI leads primary technical role base pay at $310,000 and xAI leads overall base pay at $290,000.
  3. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes Amazon. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  4. Google alumni have founded or led 133 other organizations, more than any other AI labIncludes Amazon. We estimate that alumni of 17 major AI labs went on to found or lead 350 other organizations, including 226 they founded, and we trace 472 career moves directly between 23 labs since 2010.

Sources and credits

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  1. Aleix Martinez | Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences cog.osu.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Computer Vision Study Links How Brain Recognizes Faces, Moods news.osu.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. FACIAL EXPRESSION osc.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. We All Know The “Not Face” – Now We Have A Name For It wvtf.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. EmotioNet Challenge: Recognition of facial expressions of emotion in the wild arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Future of Ohio State Computer Vision Research So Bright it Needs Shades ece.osu.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Structured Human Assessment of Text-to-Image Generative Models openaccess.thecvf.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. AI for Executives aiforexecutivescourse.com. Checked 20 October 2026.