Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-30

2024 Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) Summer Research Symposium

and

National Academy of Inventors (NAI) – NJIT Chapter Innovation Day

July 24-25, 2024, Ballroom A&B, and Atrium, Campus Center

The URI Summer Research Symposium agenda is posted here on the NJIT Google Drive.

More than 180 undergraduate students will present their summer research work at the symposium. Best innovation projects will be awarded the Dr. James Stevenson Innovation Award: first, second and third prizes of $1,000, $750 and $500 respectively.  In addition, The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Chapter at NJIT will host the NAI-NJIT Innovation Day on July 25, 2024, featuring distinguished keynote presentation by Dr. Amit Chakraborty, Principal Scientist, Hybrid Digital Twin & AI at Siemens Corporation. NJIT faculty inventors will be inducted to National Academy of Inventors as "Members" and "Honorary Members" at the NAI-NJIT Chapter Induction Ceremony and Lunch from 12:00 AM - 1.00 PM on July 25, 2024. 

Provost John Pelesko will open the symposium with welcome remarks. President Teik Lim will welcome us on the second day, celebrating the NJIT Innovation Day with NAI-NJIT Chapter and Dr. James Stevenson Student Innovation Awards

NSF: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP); Engineering Research Initiation (ERI); Computer and Information Science and Engineering : Core Programs; NSF National Quantum Virtual Laboratory - Quantum Testbeds (NQVL); Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP)

NIH: Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program (T32); D-START: Data Science Track Award for Research Transition (D/START) (R03)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: DoD Combat Readiness - Medical, Translational Research Award; Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments ; Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Department of Energy: Smart Manufacturing Technologies for Material and Process Innovation; Geothermal Resources’ Value In Implementing Decarbonization (GRID)

National Endowment of Humanities: Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education; Humanities Connections; Summer Stipends

Private Foundations: Sony Research Award Program

Data can be a double-edged sword in generative AI, agency experts say: Streamlining the vast troves of existing and incoming data intrinsic to federal operations will be central to agencies’ planned use cases for generative artificial intelligence technologies, federal leadership says, but it is contingent on proper data governance to guard from bias and inaccuracy. 

“The primary benefit of using GenAI is the capability of analyzing very vast data sets in government operations and its ability to process and derive insights from those enormous volumes of data,” Chakib Chraibi, chief data scientist at the Department of Commerce’s National Technical Information Service, said at an ATARC panel Thursday. Internally, agencies are leveraging AI in diverse applications related to this problem. Conrad Bovell, branch chief of cybersecurity advisory and strategy at the Department of Health and Human Services, said that researchers at the National Institute of Health created an AI tool to leverage clinical data to gauge if a given immunotherapy drug would be effective at treating a patient’s cancer.

NIH Senior Data Scientist Nathan Hotaling offered another internal AI application, which would use generative AI software to read unstructured data –– such as notes stored in a PDF document –– and convert it into searchable text and data. Stephanie Wilson, an agreements officer within the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, said during the panel that her agency has been using generative AI to do similar work with unstructured data, with the ultimate aim to ease administrative burdens, particularly surrounding contracting paperwork, research and policies. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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White House announces almost $100M in commitments to expand pool of tech talent: The White House announced on Tuesday that government agencies, civil society organizations and academic institutions have committed to providing $96 million toward expanding technology training initiatives. 

The Biden administration publicized the pledges in a press release, saying that the funding would help “grow and enable the public interest technology ecosystem” by providing agencies with enhanced access “to diverse, expert, mission-oriented tech talent.” The White House said the financial commitments align with the goals of President Joe Biden’s October 2023 executive order on the safe and trustworthy use of artificial intelligence, which called in part for the government to “adapt job training and education to support a diverse workforce and help provide access to opportunities that AI creates.” The release named almost 20 entities that had committed to providing funding or expanded training initiatives, including several federal agencies.  The White House said the National Science Foundation would provide “at least $48 million to advance research, implementation and learning opportunities.” This includes allocating $32 million toward its Experiential Learning in Emerging and Novel Technologies initiative to support “opportunities for diverse learners to succeed in emerging technology fields,” as well as $16 million for a second round of its Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of Technologies program. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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Senators seek to advance AI capabilities at national labs: Two senators are working to usher more artificial intelligence systems and technologies into the U.S. national laboratory network through new legislation introduced last week. Sens. Joe Manchin, I-WV, and Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, introduced the Department of Energy AI Act to expand AI computing capabilities across the 17 national laboratories, with a focus on deploying frontier — or leading-edge — AI models to help researchers visualize the myriad, and often classified, datasets in multiple scientific domains. “As AI technology takes the world by storm, the United States needs to meet the moment quickly and effectively before our adversaries do,” Manchin said in a press release. “The DOE and its network of National Laboratories are ready and able to bring our nation to the next level of scientific discovery and global competitiveness through the innovation of safe and responsible AI.”

One key component of the bill authorizes the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology, an internal initiative within Energy that unlocks funding to bring AI capabilities into multiple department domains. Authorizing this program would let Energy further develop its workforce, data and computing capabilities, and expand its Exascale Computing Project partnerships with industry entities. The bill authorizes $12 billion in spending over five years to launch the FASST program. More information is posted on the NextGov website.