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The Science of Science and Computational Discovery (SOS+CD) lab focuses on the innovative use of AI and computational methods to advance scientific research and discovery.

When we think of scientific research, said Daniel Acuna, the head of the SOS+CD lab, "it can be hard to remember that scientists are people too."

The science of science, he explained, seeks to unravel the complexities and imperfections of who gets to make scientific discoveries, what those discoveries are and how those discoveries are credited and amplified. Computational discovery, on the other hand, seeks to help scientists discover new knowledge through AI and other computational methods.

From detecting altered images in research papers to improving information retrieval and fairness in AI systems, each member of the SOS+CD lab is engaged in projects that aim to solve complex problems in scientific research.

Let's learn from members of the lab about what their research entails.

Tyler Gorman is working to see if he can detect digitally altered images using AI. This is valuable because the pressure to publish can lead people to edit images, which can have large real-world consequences, such as the case of potentially doctored Alzheimer's research stretching across two decades.

Gorman sees a goal of the SOS+CD lab as automating the impossible task of large-scale review.

"At the end of the day, you just can't go through tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of papers. But we could apply this tool to research papers and see if a percentage are photoshopped," he said.

When asked what he sees as the common thread of the lab, Gorman said, "We're all trying to take a hammer and microscope and look at different parts of the science of science."

Gorman said he believes that this variety of experience in the lab is a valuable part of research in a university.

"Everyone has their own expertise, and no one is smart enough to know everything. If they were, you wouldn't need grad school," Gorman said.

Carolina Chavez-Ruelas is working on a project examining whether the socioeconomic status of academic faculty influences their research interests. She is advised by Acuna and fellow computer science professor Aaron Clauset, who also investigates the science of science.

Chavez-Ruelas sees the SOS+CD lab as a place where the power of AI can be used for something beyond private industry.

"I think this lab is about how those tools can be used for science in general, be it discovery of unexplored gaps or maybe just helping researchers perform better and automatizing tasks that are tedious," she said.

Chavez-Ruelas said that having a strong research interest is the most important part of deciding whether to pursue a PhD.

She also acknowledges that the process of getting a PhD is complex.

"I think I was a bit lost when I first started my PhD, and I feel very fortunate that both Daniel and Aaron have been my advisors. It's been nice to have that guidance," she said.

Pawin Taechoyotin is working on several projects related to representation learning, a machine-learning technique that breaks down complex data into simpler representations so that its relationship to other data can be seen more easily.

Taechoyotin said this is similar to how humans learn to simplify the complex entity of an apple into an image of an apple or the word apple.

"A limitation of AI currently is that it cannot learn something beyond the data it is given, but if we could apply the way that humans learn back to the AI, we could potentially have AI that can identify or create new concepts," Taechoyotin said.

Among other projects, Taechoyotin is working on representation learning for the images and text of research papers. His goal is to enable researchers to retrieve papers that are similar to their own, but not the same, in the hopes of sparking creative thinking.

Taechoyotin said that he enjoys the collaborative space the lab brings, saying that you never truly work alone in academia because it limits your ideas.

"Also, humans are social animals, we need to talk to one another. You cannot help humanity if you can't communicate your work."

Shubham Sati is working on building a recommender system for citations in research papers.

The system will use a dataset of 100 million research papers to provide accurate and context-based recommendations for citations.

"Let's say you write a sentence and you know you read it somewhere but you're not able to cite it properly; you can't remember where you read it, Sati said. Take that sentence and feed it into my system, and it'll give you recommendations for citation."

This work can help ensure people don't plagiarize unintentionally, and could help uncover similar scientific literature that improves their work.

Sati was inspired to pursue this research after taking a class with Acuna and working as a backend engineer at Amazon.

Sati plans to continue working on systems engineering, working with computer science Professor Shivakant Mishra to reduce the amount of data duplication in databases by exploiting shared memory channels for edge computing systems.

He said that graduate school offers a valuable opportunity to delve deeper into research and expand one's knowledge and expertise.

MeysamVarasteh is working on the fairness of recommender systems toward women and Black people. He's working both with Acuna and Department of Information Science Chair and Professor Robyn Burke.

"I think society in general isn't always fair, and I think that I cannot change the world, but maybe I can change the AI that people use every day, like Netflix, YouTube, Google, and other applications," Varasteh said.

All of these applications and many others use what are called recommender systems, which recommend what you might want to watch next by what you've watched previously, and they can easily be biased.

During his master's degree, Varasteh read a research paper every day, and he said it helped him greatly. He became inspired to pursue this research after reading one of Burke's papers on recommender systems. He said he also deeply appreciates Acuna's guidance.

"He's a really supportive advisor," Varasteh said.

Varasteh, like Chavez-Ruelas, said he believes that you have to be committed to research to find a PhD useful.

Go here to read the rest:

How AI could bring a scientific renaissance: The SOS+CD lab - University of Colorado Boulder

In an attempt to accelerate K-12 computer science education in a state where its exceedingly rare, in 2019 the Georgia Legislature passed a law mandating all high schools in the state must teach computer science by 2024. The bill was a direct response to the immense demand for technology talent in the private sector.

Preparing effective computer science education can take time and, of course, money. Thats where a team from Mercer Universitys College of Education, Department of Computer Science and School of Engineering came up with a plan.

We needed to make a difference, and this is a way we could do it, said Dr. Thomas Koballa, dean of the College of Education. He serves as principal investigator on a five-year National Science Foundation grant that aims to develop highly effective computer science teacher-leaders who are prepared, specifically, to help rural school systems provide high-quality instruction for all students.

Fewer than 20% of middle and high school students enrolled in computer science courses during the 2020-21 school year were in rural school systems, according to Georgia Department of Education data. Additionally, of the 309 certified computer science teachers, only 86 taught in rural schools.

The legislation was requiring all schools to include computer science in their curriculum, Dr. Koballa said. In metro school systems like Gwinnett (County), they have more computer science teachers than you can imagine. But in these (rural) school systems that were working with, it was just a dream for some of them.

The nearly $1.5 million grant is administered through the NSFs Division of Undergraduate Education and Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. It focuses on rural, high-need school districts in Clinch, Coffee, Evans, Jeff Davis, Tattnall, Treutlen and Wheeler counties, as well as Dublin City Schools.

Dr. Koballas team includes co-principal investigators Dr. Susie Morrissey, assistant professor of mathematics education in the College of Education; Dr. Bob Allen, professor and chair of computer science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Anthony Choi, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the School of Engineering.

Consistent with Mercers ongoing efforts to not only transform communities but also create new models, the team knew they had to start with the teachers.

They worked with school administrators to recruit 16 certified computer science Master Teacher Fellows, including middle or high school teachers from each of the eight partner districts. The Master Teacher Fellows received tuition and a stipend to complete a 14-month online Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) in Teacher Leadership degree program that included computer science and instructional coaching endorsements. That was followed by online computer science mini-courses and in-person computer science leadership assemblies. The pair of teachers from each of the eight school districts are now constructing computer science system-level planning to guide computer science education in grades K-12.

As professors at a university, how many students can we directly touch? Very few, said Dr. Choi. But if we can actually help the teachers that are currently in those rural areas to become master computer science teachers, then be trained to a level where they are going to cultivate not only their own students but other teachers to become technologically advanced, thats the main goal of this project.

Dr. Koballa estimates that by educating 16 teachers, the project will impact more than 1,500 rural students. Nearly two years after Mercers College of Education received the grant to develop computer science master teachers for schools in rural Georgia, grant leaders are starting to see success.

The knowledge base and experience gained through my specialist program at Mercer has been huge in learning from some of the brightest minds currently in education.

Paige Denmark has spent the last eight years at Clinch County Elementary-Middle School as a sixth grade science teacher, a K-7 gifted resource and 4-7 STEM teacher. Shes one of the 16 Master Teacher Fellows participating in the project and said this partnership has not only enriched her teaching experience but created a platform for driving positive change in the community.

Teaching students and guiding them to discover the significance of computer science in their everyday lives, as well as its potential in shaping their future career pathways, is a driving force behind my involvement in the NSF grant, she said.

Master Teacher Fellow Andrew Harvey has been an educator for 15 years and currently teaches elementary STEAM, middle grades engineering, eighth grade science and high school mechatronics for Dublin City Schools. He said the NSF grant enabled him to work at the district level to expand computer science education across his district and build teacher capacity.

This network has helped to collaboratively solve common issues, share ideas and help create solutions for our districts, he said. The knowledge base and experience gained through my specialist program at Mercer has been huge in learning from some of the brightest minds currently in education.

Harvey added that his students have responded well to the revamped curriculum and lessons and have shown great aptitude for computer science.

Its tempting, because were an agricultural community, to think that technology isnt really being used, he explained. But if you work with any farmer around, youd be amazed how much technology they use every day, from their ground monitoring systems to the satellite systems that work with their tractors, the plows, even sprayer drones, everything. But people dont realize that, so the same opportunities are usually not given to rural districts.

Two years into the five-year grant, the project boasts a 100% retention rate. All 16 of the teachers who initially joined have remained with the program.

It was a tremendous amount of effort, tremendous amount of dedication that the fellows brought to the table, Dr. Choi said. They had to navigate through these courses that were all taught at night, while still teaching their regular classes. I think thats what made this so successful. We could not have done it without their dedication to what we were trying to do.

The project also includes partnerships with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and the Computer Science for Georgia Academic Partners Network. Nonprofit partners that will provide the Master Teacher Fellows with career-focused computer science links within rural communities include Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, University of Georgia Agricultural Extension Service and the Software Engineering Group at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex.

Dr. Morris Leis, superintendent of Coffee County Schools, said his district is thankful to Mercer for this opportunity, and he believes computer science is a pathway that can lead to careers for many of his students.

The opportunities in Georgia have never been greater with a growing economy and the economic development across our state, he said. Our students must be prepared in the area of computer science, and this grant will create capacity in our classrooms. This grant will allow us to grow our own computer science instructors and will pay dividends for years to come.

A report recently released by Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, stated the number of students taking computer science education courses continues to rise at just a modest pace, and stubborn gaps in access to courses persist.

Dr. Koballa described this project as a homegrown approach but said there already have been discussions about how to expand it in the future.

What well be attempting to do is use the teachers and the momentum that we have to develop pathways in the school systems to address the continuing need for computer science teachers, he said.

All stakeholders agreed expanding computer science education in schools is critical for preparing todays students for tomorrows careers. And developing highly effective computer science teacher-leaders who are prepared to help rural school systems provide high-quality instruction is key.

Thanks to a team of solution-focused educators who saw a need and a way to help, more than 1,500 rural Georgia students are closer than theyve ever been to a brighter future.

Originally posted here:

Mercer advances computer science education in rural Georgia - Mercer University

State University of New York Chancellor John B. King, Jr. has announced the second year of the Chancellors Summer Research Excellence Fund, which will provide over 150 undergraduates with paid internships this summer at eight campuses, including Stony Brook University.

As part of the 2024 State of the State agenda, Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed the Empire AI initiative, which will provide SUNYs four university centers and other leading New York research institutions with the opportunity to conduct groundbreaking research and lead the nation in artificial intelligence research and economic development, with an emphasis on the use of AI to advance the public good.

To help support Empire AI and the nation leading work New York is doing around artificial intelligence, at least 22 of the 2024 Chancellors Summer Research Excellence Fund paid internship experiences will focus on roles in AI and the need to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in AI research and development.

Like the invention of the printing press, the radio, or the internet, once every generation, a technological wave comes along that changes how we live, said King. That is why it is critical we provide internship experiences to students in the growing field of Artificial Intelligence to apply AI to solve problems, to learn about AI ethics, and to increase diversity in STEM fields researching and innovating in this emerging technology. Internships are absolutely vital to student success, as they offer experiences students would not otherwise get in the classroom alone.

The internship program will expand research opportunities to students with financial need, first-generation students, and others who may face barriers to securing research experiences. Participating campuses include Stony Brook, University at Albany, Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, Downstate Health Sciences University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and Upstate Medical University.

The Summer Research Excellence Fund, which is supported by SUNYs Empire Innovation Program, covers all student costs for the internship including, but not limited to, student stipend/salary, tuition/fees, housing, meal plans, childcare, and transportation.

These internships will be in fields including biology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, physics, astronomy, engineering, medicine, life sciences, chemistry, computer science, and clean energy.

As Stony Brook prepares its bright and talented students to lead the next generation of scientific research, ensuring the future of STEM education and innovation is inclusive, equitable, diverse and collaborative is a top priority, said Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis. The generous and visionary support of the Chancellors Summer Research Excellence Fund makes it possible for our students to excel at the highest levels by obtaining hands-on research opportunities in critical fields, such as artificial intelligence, climate science, and clean energy.

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Chancellor's Summer Research Excellence Fund Focuses on AI - Stony Brook News