Last week, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) announced the establishment of an artificial intelligence (AI) think tank to develop innovative solutions to regional challenges such as water scarcity and health disparities.
According to the press release, the AI Institute for Community-Engaged Research will promote collaboration among researchers, the public, and the private sector.
UTEP is located at the confluence of three states and two countries along the Rio Grande. Its student body is diverse, with 84% of its 25,000 students identifying as Hispanic.
More than half of these students are the first in their families to attend college.
The institute will provide students with critical employment opportunities in support of research, training, and K-16 educational initiatives.
The think tank will be situated in UTEP’s Interdisciplinary Research Building, with research activities in various labs and centers across the campus.
This collaborative environment will unite faculty members from all departments and offer extensive training in AI and high-performance computing to both undergraduate and graduate students.
The institute will also address cross-cutting areas such as entrepreneurship, workforce development, and policy.
The institute’s leadership includes the UTEP associate vice president for scientific computing and artificial intelligence, the associate vice president for interdisciplinary research, the senior advisor to the provost for strategic STEM initiatives, a research scientist from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a UTEP associate professor of computer science, and a professor of computer science.
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