PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Lawrence Carin

Also known as Larry Carin

Lawrence Carin is a Duke University electrical engineer whose research moved from electromagnetics and sensing to applied statistics and machine learning. After earning three electrical engineering degrees at the University of Maryland, he joined Duke in 1995, where he helped teach computers to spot buried landmines and coauthored a 2008 paper on Bayesian compressive sensing. He co-founded Signal Innovations Group and, in 2017, the machine-learning company Infinia ML, and in December 2017 he published ten papers at NIPS, the most of any researcher at the event. His administrative roles included vice president for research at Duke and, from 2021 to 2023, provost of KAUST in Saudi Arabia. Since 2026, he is Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1985–1994

    Maryland degrees and Brooklyn Poly

    He earns BS, MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1985, 1986 and 1989. He joins the Electrical Engineering Department at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, now part of NYU, as an assistant professor in 1989 and becomes an associate professor there in 1994.

  2. 1995–2001

    Associate professor at Duke

    He joins Duke's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in September 1995 as an associate professor, and with Leslie Collins he begins teaching computers to spot buried landmines in the 1990s. University of Pennsylvania researchers add his algorithms to software that helps doctors classify cancerous cells. He becomes a full professor and a Fellow of the IEEE in 2001.

  3. 2008

    Bayesian compressive sensing

    In June 2008, he coauthors "Bayesian compressive sensing" in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing. The paper uses a Bayesian formalism to estimate a signal from compressive-sensing measurements, adding error bars that measure confidence in the result and a way to optimize the measurements adaptively.

  4. 2011–2019

    Leading research at Duke

    He chairs Duke's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department from 2011 to 2014 and serves as vice provost for research from 2014 to 2019. In 2019, he becomes vice president for research and leads Duke's newly formed Office of Research. By 2019, his research has moved from electromagnetics and sensing to applied statistics and machine learning.

  5. 2014–2023

    Signal Innovations and Infinia ML

    BAE Systems acquires Signal Innovations Group, a small business he co-founded, in 2014. In 2017, he co-founds Infinia ML, a Durham machine-learning company that begins as a Duke research lab, and serves as its chief scientist. Aspirion acquires Infinia ML in 2023.

  6. December 2017

    Ten papers at NIPS 2017

    In December 2017, he publishes ten papers at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), the most of any researcher at the event, four of them with Ricardo Henao. The work covers generative adversarial networks, deep learning and neuroscience, with new ideas in text analysis and image synthesis.

  7. 2021–2023

    Provost of KAUST

    In January 2021, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia names him provost, with leadership of faculty, students and education programs. He holds the post until 2023, when he returns to Duke.

  8. Since 2026

    Professor emeritus at Duke

    His recent work includes an April 2025 Scientific Reports paper on detecting implicit biases of large language models with Bayesian hypothesis testing. In 2026, he becomes Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Duke's Pierre R. Lamond Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Career

  1. Since 1995Duke UniversityAssociate Professor, Professor
  2. 2021–2023King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyProvost
  3. 2017–2023Infinia MLCo-founder, Chief Scientist
  4. 1989–1994Polytechnic Institute of BrooklynAssistant Professor, Associate Professor
  5. Signal Innovations GroupCo-founder

Education

  1. 1989University of MarylandPhD
  2. 1986University of MarylandMS
  3. 1985University of MarylandBS

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Lawrence Carin. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Duke 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 Duke 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. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Duke University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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  1. Lawrence Carin | Scholars@Duke profile scholars.duke.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Larry Carin Reappointed to New Term as Vice Provost for Research | Duke Today today.duke.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Launching an AI and Photonics Initiative at Duke pratt.duke.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Lawrence Carin named KAUST Provost kaust.edu.sa. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Scholars@Duke publication: Bayesian compressive sensing scholars.duke.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Research VP Carin to Depart for Provost Role at KAUST | Duke Today today.duke.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Alumnus Lawrence Carin named Vice President for Research at Duke University ece.umd.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Machine learning company Infinia ML returns to its roots, partners with Pratt dukechronicle.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Infinia ML Chief Scientist Was Most Prolific Researcher At Nips 2017 carrickcapitalpartners.com. Checked 20 October 2026.