2024 IAD Highlights Report

TRANSFORMING HOW WE SOLVE THE WORLD’S MOST COMPLEX PROBLEMS 2024 ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS REPORT

REPORT CONTENTS

PAGE 2

Our Leadership

PAGE 3 • COLLABORATE Mission Vision Numbers Reach

PAGE 4-5 • INNOVATE Grants, Awards and Research Research Areas

OUR LEADERSHIP The year 2024 was a landmark year for IAD, marked by exciting growth and impactful achievements. A key milestone was the addition of a brand-new, state-ofthe-art 3,000-square-foot facility to host the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education. This physical growth was matched by an expansion in human capital, with the addition of three new full-time staff members to further IAD’s mission of better serving the UB community.

IAD played a pivotal role in several major institutional successes, including UB’s winning of a $10 million grant to establish the IES National Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI), as well as a $28.4 million NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award.

The institute also deepened its strategic focus on high-impact areas such as AI and Health Science and AI for Social Good, with IAD faculty leading research initiatives and contributing significantly to SUNY’s Strategic Research Investment (STRIVE) planning efforts. These efforts culminated in a historic announcement from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who committed to supporting the establishment of a new Department of AI and Society at UB, as well as a dedicated AI and Society building. Additionally, the Governor unveiled a $400 million investment to create the Empire AI Infrastructure, the most advanced in the state, which will be housed at UB. The momentum is indelible and the possibilities ahead are vast. Let’s continue to build on this remarkable progress and look forward to an even more transformative year to come.

PAGE 6-7 • EDUCATION Our Degree Programs Our Education Leadership

PAGE 8-9 • OUTREACH Our Signature Events and Key Visits

PAGE 10-11 • HISTORY

Jinjun Xiong, PhD Director SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2024 Timeline

Rachael Hageman Blair, PhD Associate Director of Education

Shaojie Tang, PhD Associate Director of AI and Management Science

Kenneth Joseph, PhD Associate Director of AI & Society

John Beverley, PhD Associate Director of AI and Ontological Science

Srirangaraj (Ranga) Setlur Associate Director of Community Engagement

Sara Metcalf, PhD Initiative Lead for the Benchmarking and Evaluating AI for Modeling and Simulation (BEAMS)

Yijun Sun, PhD Associate Director of AI & Health Science

MISSION

VISION

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) brings together leading researchers, labs, and centers across the University at Buffalo and beyond, connecting affiliates from a wide range of disciplines.

Our vision is to foster interdisciplinary research to continue to move the community in new and interesting directions.

Bringing together university, industry, government and community partners - affiliates - to advance core technologies and techniques, applying them in ways to optimize humane-machine partnerships and develop the necessary tools and skills to have a positive societal impact.

Our mission is transforming how we solve the world’s most complex challenges through cutting-edge AI, data science, and collaborative innovation.

2021 INSTITUTE ESTABLISHED 115+ IAD FACULTY AFFILIATES* 13 DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS*

700+ SUBSCRIBERS: INSIGHTS NEWSLETTER 1,665 TOTAL ALUMNI COLLABORATIONS

*AFFILIATE NUMBERS

58

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES

20

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

19

JACOBS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

6

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS

5

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

3

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

2

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

1

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

1

SCHOOL OF NURSING

COLLABORATE

HERE IS HOW WE INNOVATE

EXPANDING OUR REACH

IAD COLLABORATE | PAGE 3

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION $20M: NATIONAL AI INSTITUTE FOR EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION The National AI Institute for Exceptional Education (AI4ExceptionalEd) is a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institute led by UB. It aims to close the gap in services for the nearly 3.4 million children who require speech and language support by developing advanced AI technologies to scale the reach and availability of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF) and Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IAD Affiliates: Venu Govindaraju, Jinjun Xiong and Srirangaraj (Ranga) Setlur.

$1.2M: Clean Energy Research Hub UB awarded grant to establish a research center that taps into the university’s expertise in materials science, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other fields. Funding Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). IAD Affiliate: Krishna Rajan.

$10M: CENTER FOR EARLY LITERACY AND RESPONSIBLE AI (CELARAI) The Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI) conducts pioneering research on integrating generative AI into early literacy education. Its AI Reading Enhancer (AIRE) tool personalizes text, analyzes reading in real time, and delivers immediate literacy support for K–2 students. Funding Source: Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IAD Affiliate: X. Christine Wang.

$1M: REFUGEES AND UNDERPRIVILEGED STUDENTS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN EMERGING STEM TECH Three-year Education Pathways Summer Program for underrepresented high school students for learning in AI, cybersecurity, drone technology and Internet of Things (IoT). Funding Source: National Science Foundation. IAD Affiliates: Shambhu Upadhyaya, Sreyasee Das Bhattacharjee and Wenyao Xu.

$750,000 AWARD FOR SAFER AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE RESEARCH UB’s Center for Embodied Autonomy and Robotics (CEAR) receives award from MOOG, Inc. for support in robotics research. IAD Affiliates: Karthik Dantu and Souma Chowdhury

$3M: mHEALTH TECHNOLOGIES FOR ASSESSING BLOOD PERFUSION IN CHRONIC WOUNDS This project focuses on harnessing mobile artificial intelligence to enhance the management of chronic wounds.

Funding Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH). IAD Affiliate: Wenyao Xu.

$1.8M: TO SECURE THE DOD’S MOST CRITICAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS Working with security for AI firm HiddenLayer as part of an effort by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and AFWERX to use AI detection and response to manage critical issues in the U.S. IAD Affiliates: Siwei Lyu, Sanjukta Das Smith and Dominic Sellitto.

IAD RESEARCH | PAGE 4

$175K: AI-ENABLED ENERGY-AWARE HPC & CLOUD SOFTWARE The GreenSW project advances sustainable, low-carbon software development through AI-driven energy-aware code refactoring, helping reduce the overall carbon footprint. Funding Source: National Science Foundation. IAD Affiliate: Tevfik Kosar

AI REVOLUTIONIZES EMERGENCY RESPONSE A study reveals ChatGPT has been successfully trained to extract location information from social media posts during natural disasters to aid first responders. IAD Associate Director of AI and Society: Kenneth Joseph.

Autonomy & Robotics Biotech, Genomics & Pharmaceuticals

AI TO TREAT BRAIN ANEURYSM Al applications developing prognosis tools for the operating room, which could improve treatment outcomes and early detection of complications. IAD Affiliate: Ciprian “Chip” Ionita.

Computational Research & Modeling Computer Vision & Machine Learning

RESEARCH

RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS

Education and Special Education

COLLABORATIVE FOR A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY (CoRE)

Finance, Business & Management

CoRE received a three-year funding extension to continue advancing green manufacturing in Western New York. This funding cycle seeks to accelerate and scale up safer material innovations in clean energy technologies by building on our earlier work. IAD Affiliate: Krishna Rajan.

Chemistry & Materials Foundational Research Health Sciences

BASIC FORMAL ONTOLOGY (BFO) AND THE COMMON CORE ONTOLOGY (CCO) U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Intelligence Community (IC) will rely on Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and one of its widely used extensions, the Common Core Ontology (CCO), as the “baseline standards for formal DOD and IC ontology.” IAD Affiliate: Barry Smith.

Legal, Ethics & Fairness Natural Language Processing Ontology Privacy, Trust & Information Security Social Science

COLLABORATIVE INSTITUTE FOR MULTISOURCE INFORMATION FUSION (CIMIF) Positioned to leverage strategic partnerships with government, industry and academia to advance data fusion in support of intelligence-gathering, defense activity and homeland security. The top technical areas of CIMIF are space defense, big data, automated decision-making and cybersecurity. IAD Affiliate: John Crassidis.

Curious About AI and Data Science?

Let’s explore the future together, visit: Buffalo.edu/iad

BOOK: BINARY NEURAL NETWORKS: ALGORITHMS, ARCHITECTURES, AND APPLICATIONS This publication is the first book in the binary neural network field, leading to further advancement of the field. IAD Affiliates: Baochang Zhang and David Doermann.

IAD RESEARCH | PAGE 5

IAD’S DEGREE PROGRAMS The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science provides multiple educational programs to accommodate and train students and professionals at different levels. These programs provide students with the skills they need to thrive in the rapidly evolving fields of artificial intelligence, information technology, and data science.

Leonid Khinkis, PhD Professor of Teaching

Vochita Mihai, PhD Professor of Teaching

Adithya Lakshmi Narayanan, PhD Assistant Professor of Teaching

Jianzhen (Jason) Liu, PhD Assistant Professor of Teaching

Computational and Data-Enabled Sciences (CDES) PhD The Computational and Data Enabled Sciences PhD addresses research challenges in a variety of fields by integrating large-scale computing and big data analysis, training scientists to effectively analyze big data and multisource datasets. By combining expertise in computing, data sciences and domain sciences, students are equipped with the skills to tackle complex problems and solve grand challenges in their respective fields.

Data Sciences and Applications MPS The Master of Professional Studies in Data Sciences and Applications program focuses on equipping students with the necessary skills in analytics to derive valuable insights from large and diverse datasets. Students receive training in various data mining and machine learning techniques, enabling them to analyze and extract meaningful information from complex data.

Engineering Science (Artificial Intelligence) MS This Engineering Sciences MS with a course focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a multidisciplinary program designed to train students in the areas of machine learning, programming languages, deep learning algorithms and advanced artificial neural networks that use predictive analytics to solve realworld problems.

Engineering Science (Data Science) MS The Engineering Science MS with a course focus in Data Science offers a comprehensive education in big data and analysis. Students gain knowledge, expertise and practical training in data collection and management, data analytics, scalable data-driven discovery and fundamental concepts.

4 2 10 836

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

400+ companies from all over the world have sponsored IAD masters students as interns, including:

MICRO-CREDENTIALS

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES 2024 ENROLLMENT GRADUATE STUDENTS

EDUCATION

IAD’S EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Rachael Hageman Blair, PhD Associate Director of Education, Program Director of Data Sciences and Applications MPS Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Health Professions

Sarah Muldoon, PhD Program Director of Computational and Data Enabled Sciences (CDES) PhD Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences

Johannes Hachmann, PhD Program Director of Engineering Sciences (Data Science) MS Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Mingchen Gao, PhD Program Director of Engineering Sciences (Artificial Intelligence) MS

IAD’s CDES program propels one to transform into a general-purpose problem solver - the best kind there is in this century. I entered the program as an engineer, and its cross-disciplinary structure allowed me to explore countless areas in research and in the classroom, from network theory to numerical analysis. The program’s malleability in enabling problem solving is singular and exceptional.

Adithya Narayanan

2024, CDES PhD Student

Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

IAD EDUCATION | PAGE 7

OUR SIGNATURE EVENTS AND KEY VISITS

IAD DAYS: THE AI AND DATA SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM 2024 UB’s IAD Days is an annual celebration of big data, HPC, and AI, featuring leading scholars who host workshops, lectures, and networking for students and faculty.

A WORLD SCHOLAR’S SEMICONDUCTOR FORUM An invitation-only forum brought global semiconductor experts together to highlight New York State’s major industry investments, including the $10B Green CHIPS initiative, Micron’s $100B megafab, GlobalFoundries’ $11.6B expansion, a $10B public-private R&D partnership, and a $40M federal grant for the NY SMART-I Corridor.

Attendees shared insights and strategies to strengthen the state’s semiconductor ecosystem.

IAD TECH EXCHANGE SEMINAR SERIES Throughout the academic year, the UB community and guest scholars come together weekly to explore diverse AI and data science topics—from child development to robotics—fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and sparking new research collaborations.

EMPIRE AI AND PHASE ALPHA The Empire AI computing center, located on UB’s North Campus, is set for completion in 2026. Its first stage, Phase Alpha ranks as the world’s 245th most powerful computer.

Supported by a gift from the Simons Foundation, Alpha features 96 top-tier processors for AI training and ranks 38th in energy efficiency on the Green 500 list.

NATIONAL AI INSTITUTE FOR EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION UB celebrated the grand opening of the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, highlighting its decades-long leadership in artificial intelligence research. The institute is developing AI systems to help children with speech and language disorders succeed, uniting UB’s expertise to transform lives, promote inclusion, and strengthen communities.

IAD OUTREACH | PAGE 8

Each year, we bring some of the nation’s most prominent researchers and innovators in the areas of artificial intelligence, computational science and data science from academia, government and industry to speak on topics of interest to the Western New York community.

To nominate a Distinguished Speaker, please email: ub-iad@buffalo.edu

Sachin S. Sapatnekar, PhD University of Minnesota

Electronic Design Automation and Machine Learning - Building a Virtuous Cycle

Guru Banavar, PhD Viome Life Sciences, Inc. A New Approach to Molecular Health for the Global Population

Vincent Conitzer, PhD Carnegie Mellon University

Getting AI systems (collectively) to behave the way we (collectively) want them to

UB | AI CHAT SERIES

SUNY CHANCELLOR’S VISIT

The UB AI Chat Series explores the future of AI for maximum industry impact, and a key visit featured distinguished speaker Dario Gil, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research. This event included keynote talks and panel discussions with leaders from local industries and academia—including Moog, M&T Bank, and the Jacobs School of Medicine—and showcased AI demos by UB students and postdocs from CSE and AI4ExceptionalEd.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. visited UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education. The visit included tours, a roundtable with experts and elected officials, student demonstrations funded by the Chancellor’s summer program, and a robotics demo featuring Yubie.

SUNY + GOOGLE WORKSHOP The SUNY + Google Workshop at the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education featured a hybrid, day-long event covering Google’s AI and cloud platforms, TPU/GPU model training, security, responsible AI, and AI use cases. It also explored potential collaborations between SUNY and Google related to UB, Empire AI, and AI4ExceptionalEd.

OUTREACH

IAD DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES

NERDS VISIT WITH KEMPER LEWIS Kemper Lewis, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, hosted the Northeast Engineering Regional Deans (NERDs) for their annual thought-sharing session at UB. The visit included a tour of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education and a brief talk about the facilities.

AWS - AMAZON MEETING

NEW IN 2025: AI AND SOCIETY DEPARTMENT

IAD Director Jinjun Xiong met with AWS representatives in the IAD Conference Room and AI4EE space to discuss available services and potential collaborations.

The new Department of AI and Society (AIS), led by Inaugural Chair Atri Rudra (IAD Affiliate), focuses on AI systems designed for societal needs.

Supported by $5 million from New York State, AIS offers interdisciplinary degrees across health, policy, arts, and more. Housed jointly in Engineering and Arts & Sciences, it emphasizes ethical AI and complements UB’s wider AI efforts like the Institute for AI and Data Science and Empire AI.

IAD OUTREACH | PAGE 9

2024 IN REVIEW

5

MS Data Science and MPS Program Spring Orientation

7 8

BDSC Semester Kickoff Event

16

Khinkis Lecture Series

JANUARY 4

IAD Brainstorming Session and Internship Counseling Session

26

Global Game Jam

IAD Distinguished Speaker Series: Sachin S. Sapatnekar

FEBRUARY

5 20

MARCH 22

AI Demos for Visiting Councilperson Velázquez

17 26 29

ESDS Town Hall Meeting AWS - Amazon Meeting IAD Distinguished Speaker Series: Guru Banavar

Visit from Amrita University Visit from Replaying Japan Scholars

21-22 ESDS, MS AI and

MPS Data Science New Student Orientation

JULY 10 17 22

AI and K-12 Education

School of Nursing PhD Immersion Session

30

CDES PhD Fall Orientation

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER 23

Visit to UB from Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) Delegation

28

Challenges and Opportunities of AI Integration in Higher Education

SUNY Chancellor Visit National Grid Engineering Camp Kickoff: Robot Demos

29

Empire AI Consortium Meeting & Site Visit

31

Tour of AI Institutes for State CIO

IAD HISTORY | PAGE 10

23

M&T Bank Event at Seneca One

2

AI4ExceptionalEd Ribbon Cutting

5

9

Riga Technical University (RTU) Visit to UB

IAD-CSE Seminar Series: Qiwei Han

13

LSAMP & REU Survey and Meeting

17

Unlocking the Power of Authentic Inclusion in the Age of Artificial Intelligence | Asian American Women in Tech

17-19 IAD Days: Talk, Demos, Poster Session and AI Treasure Hunt

26

WiSE STEM Outreach Day

APRIL

MAY 7

Large Language Models in Education Expo and Poster Session

16

The Humans in the Loop (podcast): Venu Govindaraju & Jinjun Xiong

24 29 31

4

VPAA+IAD GAI Data Challenge

10

Spinner Research Session for Dr. Narayanan’s Class

15

IAD Distinguished Speaker: Vincent Conitzer

19

UB Homecoming: Robot Demos

HISTORY

5

JUNE

SUNY + Google Workshop IAD-CSE Seminar Series: Tsung-wei Huang UB | AI Chat Series: Dario Gil

4, 6 HPC1 Research Talks 11 Experiential Learning Class Poster Presentation

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

1-2 A World Semiconductor Scholar’s Forum

4

NERDs Visit with Kemper Lewis

8

Inaugural Tech Exchange Seminar Series

21

Learning Together: Uniting Faculty and Students through AI in the Classroom

IAD HISTORY | PAGE 11

Let’s Grow together: qrco.de/UB-IAD

Institute for Artificial Intelligence 215 Lockwood Hall, University at Buffalo (North Campus) Buffalo, NY 14260 ub-iad@buffalo.edu buffalo.edu/ai-data-science

© 2025 University at Buffalo | Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science revised 09/03/25

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