MIT Schwarzman College of Computing has just named its newest fellow, and it’s none other than David Siegel, co-founder of quantitative investment firm Two Sigma and chairman of the Siegel Family Endowment.

For those keeping score, Siegel got his PhD at MIT, after some years at Princeton, and further back, some really impressive experience at a younger age in New York City. I’ve known Siegel for a while, and I’ve been impressed with his contributions to computer science, and machine learning, as all of this took off like a rocket in the past few years.

We need people who understand the fundamental working of neural nets and related systems, and Siegel fits the bill. So I was happy to hear about the department’s choice.

Siegel has worked at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab which is now the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory or CSAIL Lab, in Professor Tomás Lozano-Pérez’s research group on human-machine interaction. CSAIL is run by Daniela Rus, and is still adding to that legacy of innovation.

Siegel has other ties to MIT as well. He’s a lifetime member of the MIT Corporation (the governing body of MIT) and he co-chairs the External Advisory Committee at Schwartzman. He’s also the reason why the current name of the MIT program known as the Quest for Intelligence is the MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence . His leadership there is very much appreciated; working with MIT folks like James DiCarlo (Quest for Intelligence director) Siegel really advanced one of the coolest programs the community has on taking advantage of the moment that we’re in.

And then there’s OpenAthena.

The idea of the AI library and open source development is one of the most important aspects of guiding all of us into the future. Siegel has been on the front lines. Reading articles like this one from Fortune , you can imagine him and Richard Stallman chewing over those now-vintage ideas about computing, and developing the conceptual framework that we use to move forward now. I think Siegel and others should be very proud of this work.

That’s not to mention Siegel’s work on Scratch, a free online coding platform for kids, and his leadership at First Robotics, and everything else that supports a lifetime career in tech that’s getting honored now. I’ve seen some of his precursors like Ash Carter, Deval Patrick, etc. roaming the halls, and I think Siegel will fit right in.

I wanted to add these pictures of David talking to MIT students at recent events. There’s a reason why the Siegel Family Foundation is so well-known in academic circles. David can talk tech with anybody! It was great to see him engaging with a new generation of innovators.

Here’s what Siegel had to say about this auspicious turn of events:

“MIT has played a foundational role in shaping how I view technology’s potential to address complex challenges. I’m thrilled to return to campus as an Innovation Fellow to collaborate with brilliant students, researchers, and faculty at a pivotal juncture in how technology shapes our world.”

“Our community has long benefited from David’s exceptional technical insight, entrepreneurial experience, instinct for connecting people, and infectious love for MIT,” adds MIT president Sally Kornbluth. “We look forward to working with him now as he helps us identify new opportunities at the intersection of AI and scientific discovery.”

Simply put, Siegel is in a lot of groups. But behind those credentials, there’s the brilliance of someone who stays curious about the world around us, and informed on what’s happening at the cutting edge of computer science. That’s a moving target, as I’m sure anyone would agree.

So this is good news for the community, and good news for those of us who know David. Best of luck!