PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Foster Provost

Also known as Foster John Provost, F J Provost, F. Provost, F.J. Provost, Foster J. Provost

Foster Provost is an AI and machine-learning researcher whose career spans fraud detection, data mining, and data science for business. A 1998 patent named him and Tom Elliott Fawcett as inventors of an automatic fraud-detection system, and he joined NYU Stern in 1999 after five years at what is now Verizon. He served as editor-in-chief of Machine Learning until 2010 and coauthored a 2008 paper on multiple noisy labels with Victor Sheng and Panagiotis Ipeirotis, which won SIGKDD's 2020 Test of Time Award. He co-wrote Data Science for Business with Tom Fawcett in 2013 and helped found Dstillery (formerly Media6degrees), Integral Ad Science, and EveryScreen Media by 2015. The University of Antwerp awarded him an honorary degree in Business and Economics in 2025, and as of October 2026 he is NYU Stern's Ira Rennert Professor of Entrepreneurship, Professor of Technology, Operations, and Statistics, and Professor of Data Science, and directs the Fubon Center AI and Data Analytics Initiative.

Born
1964
Works
304
Citations
19,791
h-index
58
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1986–1992

    Degrees at Duquesne and Pittsburgh

    In 1986, he earns a B.S. in physics and mathematics at Duquesne University. He earns an M.S. in computer science at the University of Pittsburgh in 1988 and a Ph.D. in computer science there in 1992.

  2. 1998–1999

    A fraud-detection patent

    In 1998, a patent titled “Automatic design of fraud detection systems” names Foster John Provost and Tom Elliott Fawcett as inventors. In 1999, he joins NYU's Stern School after five years at what is now Verizon, where he works on fraud detection and network diagnosis.

  3. 2008

    A paper on noisy labels

    With Victor S. Sheng and Panagiotis Ipeirotis, he publishes “Get Another Label? Improving Data Quality And Data Mining Using Multiple, Noisy Labelers” in 2008. The paper studies selective acquisition of multiple labels.

  4. 2010

    Editor-in-chief at Machine Learning

    In 2010, he leaves the post of editor-in-chief of the journal Machine Learning.

  5. 2013–2015

    Data Science for Business

    He coauthors Data Science for Business with Tom Fawcett in 2013. His work connects data science with business problems. By 2015, he helps found Dstillery (formerly Media6degrees), Integral Ad Science, and EveryScreen Media; Media6degrees acquires EveryScreen Media.

  6. 2020

    A Test of Time Award

    In 2020, SIGKDD gives Provost, Victor S. Sheng, and Panagiotis Ipeirotis the Test of Time Award for Research for their approach to selective acquisition of multiple labels.

  7. 2025

    An honorary degree

    In 2025, the University of Antwerp awards him an honorary degree in Business and Economics.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and Fubon director

    In April 2026, he joins a discussion on business strategy and human choice as the Data Analytics & AI Director. As of October 2026, he is NYU Stern's Ira Rennert Professor of Entrepreneurship, Professor of Technology, Operations, and Statistics, and Professor of Data Science, and directs the Fubon Center AI and Data Analytics Initiative.

Career

  1. Since 2000New York UniversityIra Rennert Professor of Entrepreneurship; Professor of Technology, Operations, and Statistics; Professor of Data Science; Director of the Fubon Center AI and Data Analytics Initiative
  2. 2002–2003University of Pittsburgh
  3. Until 1999Verizon
  4. DstilleryCo-founder
  5. Integral Ad ScienceCo-founder
  6. EveryScreen MediaCo-founder

Education

  1. 1992University of PittsburghPh.D. in computer science
  2. 1988University of PittsburghM.S. in computer science
  3. 1986Duquesne UniversityB.S. in physics and mathematics

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. 23% of people shaping AI who left a university for a company later returned to a universityIncludes Foster Provost. We estimate that 468 of the 2,011 people shaping AI who left a university for a company (23%) later returned to a university after a median of 5 years, and 163 of 829 (20%) made the reverse round trip.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes New York University. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes New York University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. Companies supply the most prior-work hires at 7 of the 9 frontier AI labsIncludes New York University. Our estimates of the organizations where 550 people worked directly before joining 9 frontier AI labs across 620 career transitions, comparing the main feeder organizations per lab.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Foster Provost yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Foster J. Provost - NYU Stern stern.nyu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Automatic design of fraud detection systems - Google Patents patents.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Faculty Entrepreneurs: Foster Provost - NYU Entrepreneurship entrepreneur.nyu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Professor Foster Provost pages.stern.nyu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. 2020 SIGKDD Test of Time Award Winners kdd.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Prof. Foster Provost | Engineering Management | University of Antwerp uantwerpen.be. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Data Analytics and AI Initiative - NYU Stern stern.nyu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.