ASOF’s Initiative in Sciences & Technology for Armenia
Project Budget & Outline
Start small, and build towards regional & international prominence
Budget for 2026
$1,000,000
Key Deliverables for 2026
Teaching/Training
❖ 32 courses to undergraduate and graduate students in Armenia in strategic disciplines: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, and Bioinformatics.
❖ 35 scholars from abroad teaching classes and engaging in collaborative research.
❖ Training of local teachers.
❖ New classes on Aerospace Engineering, focus on low-orbit satellite technology.
Secured Budget for 2025 from Armenia Fund and FAR
$200,000
International Schools
❖ Four week-long international summer school on Bioinformatics.
❖ Two week-long international workshop on A.I. and Robotics.
❖ 15 prominent experts for short and long term visits; 200+ attendees from centers of excellence from around the world.
❖ Extensive interfacing with local industry and academic institutions.
Research Component
A.I., Robotics, and Computational Vision teaching laboratory at Engineering City. Core teaching laboratory for the Life Sciences.
Research projects in A.I. leveraging the new $8.5 million supercomputer that was secured through ASOF efforts; collaboration with the recent $500 million Firebird initiative: Molecular synthesis through A.I., Armenian natural language model, Robotics vision via AI-driven optics design for drones, Image-based AI perception.
Research in Bioinformatics through ABI, training programs in the Life Sciences through Santé Arménie.
Longer Term Goals
As Determined by the Council on an Ongoing Basis
Armenia has the potential to become a regional powerhouse in certain areas of science and technology that can provide for its security and wealth.
Key to achieving this is to make use of the extensive network of professional Armenians at universities and research centers around the world.
Key Directions in the Sciences & Technology for Armenia
and training. Engineering
These directions require relatively modest resources for infrastructure, but a highly educated and skilled workforce that is internationally networked with centers of excellence around the world.
The strategy is to start with local capacity building
ARCS.ai Governance
Governance Model & Operations
ASOF
Appoints
ASOF Council Appoints
ASOF Advisory Groups Advises
❖ Teaching & training programs
❖ Research programs
❖ Grant writing
❖ Seminars & Workshops
❖ Visitor program
❖ Tech transfer office Board
Educational & Research Institutions
Financial Partners and Patrons
Project/Industry Partners
The ARCS.ai Council, 2025-26
Appointed by the ASOF Executive Board
Armen Aghajanyan
FAIR (Meta)
Deep Learning, Large Language Models, NLP
Artur Alaverdyan
Co-Founder, Member of Board, Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology
Applied Physics, Entrepreneurship, High-Tech
Armen Askijian
Chief Technology Officer, Airbus U.S. Space and Defense
Aerospace Engineering, Space and Satellites, Mechanical Engineering
Diane Barber (chair)
Professor, Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California San Francisco
Cell biology
Justin Du Bois
Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology, by courtesy, Stanford University
Chemical Biology, Chemistry
Naira Hovakimyan
Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Control Theory, Optimization
Adam Kablanian
High-Tech Executive, Entrepreneur, and Investor Founder of Alexandrea Winery
Electrical Engineering, High-Tech
Ann Karagozian
Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
Combustion, Fluid Mechanics, Propulsion
Council on Sciences & Technology
A Committee of the Armenian Society of Fellows
Sarkis Mazmanian
Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology, California Institute of Technology
Microbiology, Neuroscience
Alexandre Persat
Global Health Institute and Institute for Bioengineering, Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Biology, Biophysics, Microbiology
Ardem Patapoutian (Nobel Laureate)
Professor, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute Biology
Neuroscience
Vahe Petrosian
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics Departments, Chair of Astronomy Program, Stanford University
Astrophysics, Cosmology
Dork Sahagian
Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Environmental Initiative, Lehigh University
Climate Change, Geophysics, Science and Society, Volcanology
Armen Zakarian
Vice Provost for Research, Professor and Chair, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, University of Michigan Dearborn
Data Analytics, Digital Manufacturing, Systems Engineering
Representatives from the Armenian Government (Ex-Of fi cio)
Ministry of ESCS
Ministry of HTI
Parliament of the Republic of Armenia
The ARCS.ai Armenia Board 2025-26
Appointed by the ARCS.ai Council
Haig Alexander Eskandarian
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School Biology, Medicine, Microbiology
Aram Galstyan
University of Southern California, Amazon Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science
Ivan Aprahamian Professor, Chair of the Chemistry Department, Dartmouth College Organic Chemistry, Adaptive Materials
Oshin Peroomian (Treasurer)
CTO Metacomp Technologies, Inc. and Adjunct lecturer at AUA
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computational Multi-Physics
Nora Ayanian (chair)
Professor, Brown University
Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics
Karen Eguiazarian (Vice-Chair)
Professor in Signal processing, Tampere University, Finland, and CEO of Noiseless Imaging Ltd
Computational imaging & optics
Vatche Sahakian (Secretary)
Burton Bettingen Professor in Theoretical Physics at Harvey Mudd College
Key Partners
Research
Funding
Institutions
Patrons
Execution Team 2026: A.I., Robotics, Aerospace Engineering
Teaching, Research, & Workshop
Instructors
Nora Ayanian
Professor of Robotics, Brown University
Armen Aghadjanian
Meta A.I.
Karen Eguiazarian
Professor in Signal processing, Tampere University, Finland, and CEO of Noiseless Imaging Ltd
Aram Galstyan
University of Southern California
Iren Mkhoyan
Delft University of Technology, Airbus
Sevak Mkrtchyan
Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Rochester
Mihran Papikian
Professor, Department of Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
Oshin Peroomian
CTO Metacomp Technologies, Inc.
Armen Shirikyan
Professor, Department of Mathematics, CY Cergy Paris University
Anush Tserunyan
Professor at McGill University, Mathematics and Statistics
Department
Local Instructors
Avetik Grigorian
President of AYAS Armenian Aerospace Society and CEO at Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory
Astghik Hakopyan
Polytechnic University of Armenia and CSIE
Hrachya Kocharyan
Assistant Professor, American University of Armenia, Materials & Mechanical Engineering
Hrant Khatchatryan
YerevanN and Yerevan State University
Masis Komrokian
IAN consulting, Founder
Research Group
Nora Ayanian
Professor of Robotics, Brown University
Astghik Hakobyan
CSIE, Robotics
Hrant Khatchatryan
Plus 12 members of YerevanN A.I. team
Karen Eguiazarian
Professor in Signal processing, Tampere University, Finland, and CEO of Noiseless Imaging Ltd
Execution Team 2026: Bioinformatics and Life Sciences
Teaching, Research, & Workshop
Instructors from Outside Armenia
Prof. Raffi Aroian, Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, US.
Dr. Karl Balabanian, INSERM Research Director, Deputy Director of the Saint-Louis Research Institute, Saint-Louis Hospital, France.
Prof. Ronald Balassanian, Anatomic Pathology Residency Director, Pathology Division, University of California San Francisco, US.
Dr. Nelli Bejanyan, Program Leader, Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy, Moffitt Cancer Center, US.
Dr. Haig Alexander Eskandarian
Prof. Franck Galland, Aix-Marseille Université, Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML), INSERM, France.
Dr. Sylvain Garciaz, Chef de clinique-Assistant des Hôpitaux, Institut PaoliCalmettes (IPC), CRCM, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, INSERM, France.
Prof. Sumeet Gujral, Department of Pathology, Tata Memorial Center, Mumbai, India
Prof. Robert Hasserjian, Director, Hematopathology Fellowship Program, Pathology Service, Harvard Medical School, US.
Prof. Bana Jabri, Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, US.
Prof. Philippe Karoyan, Head of Biomolecules laboratory, Sorbonne Université, Ecole normale supérieure, PSL, CNRS, AP-HP, France
Dr. Aleksandr Lazaryan, Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy, Moffitt Cancer Center, US.
Dr. Anna Martirosyan, Head of Scientific Department of Santé Arménie NGO, France.
Prof. Sarkis Mazmanian, Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology, California Institute of Technology, US.
Prof. Arsène Mekinian, President of the French Group « MINHEMON », President of Santé Arménie NGO, Saint-Antoine Hospital, France.
Dr. Haig Minassian, Bayshore Medical Center at Hackensack Meridian Health, Holmdel, US.
Dr. Emilie Narni-Mancinelli, CRHC, INSERM, Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML), France
Dr. Rosalynn Nazarian, Associate Pathologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, US
Dr. Jihane Pakradouni, Director of Clinical Research and Innovation at the Institut Paoli-Calmettes, France.
Prof. Alexandre Persat, Global Health Institute and Institute for Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
Dr. Carole Siret, Expert in Light Sheet Microscopy, Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML), Aix-Marseille Université, France.
Dr. Aurélie Tchoghandjian, Head of the GlioME team, Institute of Neurophysiopathology, CNRS, France.
Summer School
Stepan Nersisyan, Thomas Jefferson Laboratory, US
Hans Binder, Leipzig University, Germany
Roza Selimyan, Johns Hopkins University, US
Araks Martirosyan, Muna Therapeutics, Belgium
Anna Hakobyan, St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, Austria Vardges Tserunyan, Boehringer Ingelheim, US
Chrats Melkonian, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Lucas Andrade Meirelles, EPFL, Switzerland
Susanna Avagyan, Stanford University, US
Oliver Trapp, Julius Kuhn-Institut, Germany
Dennis Kappei, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Bastian Fromm, The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Local Instructors
Dr. Anna Karapetyan, Head of Department, Head of chair of Human and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Yerevan State University, Armenia
Dr. Lilit Nersisyan, Director, Lab Leader, Armenian Bioinformatics Institute, Armenia + 17 member ABI team
Dr. Alvard Poghosyan, Head of the Histopathology Diagnostic Laboratory at Yeolyan hematology and oncology center, Yerevan, Armenia
Project Leads
Dr. Anna Martirosyan
Head of Scientific Department of Santé Arménie NGO
Dr. Lilit Nersisyan
Director, Lab Leader, Armenian Bioinformatics Institute
Curricular Program: A.I., Robotics, Aerospace Engineering
Mathematics, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, and A.I.
15 Instructors 22 Classes 75+ Students
Mathematics Classes (hybrid format)
Mathematical Analysis I (15 weeks)
Mathematical Analysis II (15 weeks)
Mathematical methods in classical mechanics (15 weeks)
Ordinary Differential Equations (15 weeks)
Complex Analysis (15 weeks)
Algebra and Number Theory I (15 weeks)
Measure theory and ergodic theory (15 weeks)
Aerospace Engineering Classes
(in-person format, funded by AUA)
Introduction to Aerospace Engineering (3 weeks)
Introduction to Aerodynamics (15 weeks)
Flight and Orbital Mechanics (15 weeks)
Aerospace Systems & Control (15 weeks)
Aerospace Materials and Manufacturing (10 weeks)
Design and Analysis of Aerospace Structures (15 weeks)
Systems Engineering for Aerospace (15 weeks total)
Part I: Unmanned Aircraft Design (7.5 weeks)
Part II: Spacecraft Design (7.5 weeks)
Robotics and A.I. (in-person format)
Introduction to Robotics (10 weeks)
Computer Vision and Deep Learning for Robotics (10 weeks)
Advanced Robotics (10 weeks)
Image Processing and Robot Perception (10 weeks)
Robot Control Systems (10 weeks)
Planning for Autonomous Robots (10 weeks)
Assessment & Reviews
Students in all courses will provide anonymous evaluations of their experience. This information will be reviewed by ASOF Fellows specializing in educational assessment. At the end of the year, the ARCS.ai Board will present the outcomes of the year’s educational and training activities to the Council.
Curricular Program: Bioinformatics and Life Sciences
Clinical Immunology, Histology and Histopathology, Genome Bioinformatics
27 Instructors
Clinical Immunology
14 weeks including hands-on training for 2 weeks
1. General Immunology
2. Immunopathology
3. Biotherapies
Histology and Histopathology
14 weeks including hands-on training for 2 weeks
1. Overview of the IHC technique
2. Introduction to Digital Pathology
3. Hematopathology
4. Breast and Skin pathology
Master Class
4 days
1. Scientific Writing
2. Leadership in Science
3. Career Development
9 Courses
Students
International Summer School in Genome Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics Algorithms
Functional Genomics
Group projects
1. Machine Learning-Based Identification of Bacterial Biomarkers for Disease Classification
2. Discovery of Telomeric Biomarkers for Cancer Detection in Cell-Free DNA
3. Genomic Characterization of Population Structure in Caucasian Grape Varieties Using Whole-Genome Sequencing
4. Dissecting Lung Cancer Heterogeneity via Single-Cell Transcriptomic Profiling
Hands-on Course on Host-Pathogen Interactions
Research Program: Initial Infrastructure
Teaching
with hands-on training
❖ Teaching laboratory in Robotics and Computational Vision at Engineering City. The laboratory will be used for teaching graduate students the foundations of robotics and vision, and will also function as a foundation for an expansion into a larger research laboratory in an adjacent building in 2027.
❖ The Binder Lab, focusing on cancer and plant genomics.
❖ The Nersisyan Lab, investigating host-microbiome interactions with a focus on aging and microbiome dynamics.
❖ The Bioinformatics Core Facility, providing genomics data analysis and sequencing services in collaboration with the Institute of Molecular Biology, NAS RA.
The A.I. research will employ the new nVidia supercomputer that Armenia purchased through the efforts of ASOF and which is being currently set up at Yerevan State University ($8.5 million from RA).
Aerospace Engineering and Bioinformatics research will employ the Aznavour Supercomputer set up at
Research Operation: Initial Projects
Teaching with hands-on training
Artificial Intelligence
Large Language Models for Life Sciences
Molecular design for pharmaceuticals based on a natural language model.
Armenian Centric Translation System
For applications in business, literature, security, and soft power projection.
Robotics/Vision
Robotics vision via AI-driven optics design
Improve vision of autonomous robots using advanced optics design in challenging environments. Application: Navigation of autonomous robots in low-light environment.
Image-based AI Robot perception
Co-design of optics and image-based robot perception. Application: Material identification, texture analysis.
Bioinformatics
The project plans to host three principal investigators (PIs) in 2026 to engage them in teaching, scientific discussions, and the development of new collaborations. These visits will also serve as an opportunity to apply for international grants and receive mentorship.
The PI’s will be selected based on expertise in research in cancer multi-omics, the microbiome, and liquid biopsies.
Each PI will spend up to four weeks in Armenia, working closely with the ABI team, mentoring students, and interacting with the broader life science community. During their visit, the PI’s will also deliver lectures as part of the OMICSS-26 Summer School in Genome Bioinformatics. At the end of their stay, following the school’s bootcamp, we will organize a two-day conference showcasing current research from the visiting PI’s, ABI researchers, and other scientists in the field.
A.I. and Cross-Disciplinary Research
ARCS-ai includes an ongoing teaching, training, and research operations in partnership with YerevaNN meant to interface with other disciplines like the Life Sciences, Robotics, and Biomedical Imaging.
The Armenian Society of Fellows
Société Savante Arménienne Bibliothèque Nubar, 11 Sq. Alboni, 75016 Paris, France
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