Adam White, University of Alberta

Research

Artificial Intelligence Curiosity Decision making Intrinsic Motivation Machine learning Optimal control Reinforcement Learning

Latest papers

Electrophysiological signatures of the effect of context on exploration: Greater attentional and learning signals when exploration is costly.
Brain research · 2025 · senior author
From eye-blinks to state construction: Diagnostic benchmarks for online representation learning.
Adaptive behavior · 2023 · senior author

All 2 publications

Latest funding

Developing inquisitive, model-based agents for reinforcement learning
NSERC · 2019 · Principal investigator
$12,500
Developing inquisitive, model-based agents for reinforcement learning
NSERC · 2019 · Principal investigator
$196,000
Optimizing the treatment of drinking water using reinforcement learning
NSERC · 2017 · Co-investigator
$536,700

All 3 grants and awards

2 publications.

01

Electrophysiological signatures of the effect of context on exploration: Greater attentional and learning signals when exploration is costly.

Ferguson TD, Fyshe A, White A

Brain research2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2025.149471 PMID: 39863243

02

From eye-blinks to state construction: Diagnostic benchmarks for online representation learning.

Rafiee B, Abbas Z, Ghiassian S, Kumaraswamy R, Sutton RS, Ludvig EA, White A

Adaptive behavior2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/10597123221085039 PMID: 36618906

Developing inquisitive, model-based agents for reinforcement learning

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: White, Adam

$12,500

Developing inquisitive, model-based agents for reinforcement learning

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: White, Adam

Keywords: artificial intelligence; decision making; optimal control; machine learning; reinforcement learning; intrinsic motivation; curiosity

$196,000

Optimizing the treatment of drinking water using reinforcement learning

Co-investigatorNSERC2017Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Principal investigators: White, Martha

$536,700

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Alona Fyshe

Computing Science

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2019

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Artificial Intelligence Dear Professor White, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Electrophysiological signatures of the effect of context on exploration: Greater attentional and learning signals when exploration is costly." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Developing inquisitive, model-based agents for reinforcement learning" (2019), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]