Machine Learning Engineer Co-op

Nearly 4 million slavery records now searchable online. Nearly 4 million records documenting enslaved people across 20 former British colonies are now searchable online, opening a potentially powerful new door for descendants across the Caribbean and African diaspora trying to trace family histories disrupted by slavery. The Former British Colonies Enslavement Registers span 1813 to 1840 and include nearly 300,000 digitized pages from places including Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Mauritius and the Cape of Good Hope in present-day South Africa. Unlike many slavery-era documents that primarily identify enslavers, these records can contain the names, ages, family relationships, physical descriptions and places of origin of enslaved people, along with births, deaths, sales, escapes and manumissions. Some records could allow descendants to connect relatives across multiple generations. The registers were originally created by the British government after the 1807 abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to track enslaved populations and combat illegal trafficking. More than 200 years later, documents once used to administer slavery are being repurposed to help restore identities and family connections. The collection was digitized by Ancestry in partnership with University College London's Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, using original manuscripts held by the U.K. National Archives. The collection is available to search at no cost with a free Ancestry account. WHY IT MATTERS: For descendants whose family trees often hit a wall during slavery, a name, a mother, a child, an age or a birthplace recorded two centuries ago could provide the missing link between generations.

Fairmount Technologies welcomes James Taylor as CEO and COO. Fairmount Technologies is pleased to announce that James Taylor, Ph.D., will join the company as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, effective July 20, 2026. Jim brings more than 30 years of experience leading advanced manufacturing, engineering, product development, global supply chain, and operational improvement initiatives. Throughout his career, he has helped organizations scale complex operations, improve financial performance, launch new technologies, and build high-performing technical teams. Most recently, Jim served as Vice President of DNA at Ancestry, where he was responsible for DNA science, engineering, research and development, supply chain, and operations. In that role, he oversaw a global supply chain supporting millions of DNA tests annually and managed their global distribution and reverse logistics networks. His work at Ancestry included expanding international operations, improving product design and process performance, negotiating major supply and service agreements, developing new sample collection technologies, and maintaining continuity across a complex global network servicing sales in more than 130 countries. He also led initiatives involving artificial intelligence, laboratory processing, automation, regulatory compliance, and operational performance management. Before joining Ancestry, Jim held senior leadership positions at several well-known manufacturing and technology companies. As Vice President of Worldwide Operations at the L.S. Starrett Company, he managed manufacturing operations across North America, China, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. He also held direct profit-and-loss responsibility and led efforts involving enterprise systems, supply chain development, new product introduction, safety, and continuous improvement. At Zygo Corporation, Jim served as Division Vice President of Operations and previously as Director of Optical Components Manufacturing. His responsibilities included overseeing multiple manufacturing sites, leading post-acquisition integration activities, improving production performance, and supporting the development of advanced optical manufacturing technologies for commercial, aerospace, defense, and scientific applications. Jim's experience combines executive leadership with a deep technical foundation. He holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and is a Certified Supply Chain Professional. He has also served on the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University, teaching courses in manufacturing systems, precision metrology, CAD/CAM, Lean, Six Sigma, and advanced production technologies. In addition to his leadership and academic experience, Jim is an accomplished inventor and technical contributor. His work includes eight U.S. and international patent filings, 18 refereed journal articles, more than 50 conference presentations and invited lectures, and over 25 technical reports. Jim describes his leadership style as hands-on, technically rigorous, collaborative, and focused on recognizing the contributions of employees at every level. His approach aligns closely with Fairmount Technologies' commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and the advancement of next-generation manufacturing capabilities. As part of this leadership transition, Fairmount Technologies founder Vis Madhavan, Ph.D., will remain actively involved with the company as Chief Technical Officer. Vis founded FT in 2008 and has served as its CEO since that time, leading the development of the company's core manufacturing processes and machine technologies. Going forward, he will focus more directly on advancing the technology behind Fairmount's processes, implementing those capabilities in the machines currently in production, and supporting the development of new machines and manufacturing solutions. As CEO and COO, Jim will lead Fairmount Technologies' strategic direction and day-to-day operations as the company enters its next phase of growth. His priorities will include scaling the organization, strengthening operational systems, developing and advancing machine production and manufacturing technologies, and supporting the continued commercialization of Fairmount's capabilities. "We are excited to welcome Jim to Fairmount Technologies," said Vis Madhavan, CTO. "His combination of technical expertise, operational leadership, and experience growing complex organizations makes him exceptionally well suited to lead FT forward." Jim added, "I am incredibly excited to join Fairmount Technologies at such a pivotal time in the company's journey. Fairmount Technologies LLC is on a remarkable growth trajectory that will make the next several years both challenging and immensely rewarding. The team is among the most talented and dedicated groups of professionals I have ever had the privilege to work with, and I am confident that together Fairmount Technologies LLC will bring transformative enabling technologies to market that provide critical capabilities for the defense and aerospace industries. The foundation established through more than two decades of research and development has positioned Fairmount Technologies for this exciting next phase. Fairmount Technologies LLC now have the opportunity to build on that innovation by commercializing these breakthrough technologies, scaling its manufacturing capabilities, and deploying these advanced manufacturing platforms throughout the defense and aerospace infrastructure. I look forward to working alongside this exceptional team as Fairmount Technologies LLC help shape the future of advanced manufacturing and deliver meaningful impact to its customers and the industries Fairmount Technologies LLC serve." Please join Fairmount Technologies LLC in welcoming Jim to the Fairmount Technologies team.

Ancestry has used AI to dramatically accelerate the digitisation of historical family records, with over 50% of records now generated using AI technology. The genealogy company has amassed 71 billion documents from 88 countries over 42 years. Chief technology officer Sriram Thiagarajan said AI has transformed what was previously a months-long manual process. Early machine learning efforts began in 2014, with the company developing proprietary models for reading paper documents. The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 marked another turning point, enabling faster processing of unstructured data. AI advancements helped Ancestry add 5.2 billion new records in 2022 and 18.6 billion in 2023, compared to 800 million in 2021. The technology now powers customer-facing features including facial recognition, handwriting transcription and AI-narrated family stories.