U President Taylor Randall announced the $100 million initiative in October 2023. Since then, initiative director Manish Parashar and his team have been working with academics across campus to define specific use cases in three areas that play to university strengths: the environment, health care and wellness and teaching and learning. Reports from working groups will be done by the end of June, and summit insights will guide RAI leaders as they build public-private partnerships to accomplish their goals.
SCI’s Strong Showing at IEEE VIS Includes Top Awards and Organizers
After back-to-back hurricanes forced IEEE VIS organizers to change Florida venues and ultimately abandon in-person conference plans, the event went virtual this week, with a strong presence from the University of Utah Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute.
SCI faculty member and VIS General Chair Paul Rosen was gutted by the bad luck, but commended his VIS peers for their response—which included organizing in-person satellite events at the U and beyond. “We had to not just pivot, but double-pivot in two and a half weeks,” Rosen said. “The community really came together and is making the best of the situation.”
VIS, which dates to 1990, is the top forum for advances in visualization and visual analytics. In its 30-year history, SCI has been well-represented at the annual conference and has also hosted/chaired VIS in 2000, 2010, and 2020. According to Rosen, SCI’s presence is especially prolific this year:
Here's how and why Utah is positioned to be a leader when it comes to democratizing AI
By Logan Stefanich, KSL.com
OREM — At this point, the cat is out of the bag when it comes to artificial intelligence.
Whether used for work or play, it's become an undeniable fixture in day-to-day life for many.
"It's clear that AI is transforming every aspect of our lives. It's driving innovation, accelerating innovation, discoveries (and) amplifying impact on science and society. It's really impacting every aspect of what we do," said Manish Parashar, director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah.
But, can AI be harnessed responsibly, making it accessible to everyone and driving transformative innovation and societal progress? That question was at the heart of Parashar's message as he spoke during the second annual Silicon Slopes AI Summit in Orem on Thursday.
Symposium marks 1 year of Responsible AI Initiative
The University of Utah One-U Responsible Artificial Intelligence Initiative (One-U RAI) hosted its Inaugural Symposium on Sept. 23 just shy of its first anniversary to share updates, showcase translational and applied AI work at the U, and spark discussions on how campus can leverage its collaborative culture to become a national leader in responsible AI.
About 200 people attended the daylong symposium at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House to hear from a wide-ranging roster of experts, including keynote speaker Elham Tabassi. Tabassi, one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI” and a leader at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, spoke about “Framing and Taming AI Risks” and emphasized the need for a culture of responsible AI practices. The U is proactively building such a culture through One-U RAI, according to Mitzi Montoya, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. In opening remarks, Montoya highlighted One-U RAI’s recently launched opportunities, including distinguished visitors, faculty fellows, and postdoctoral fellows, and coming in spring, cluster hires to grow the U’s pool of AI researchers.
The U Collaborates with Tulane on up to $23 Million Cancer Moonshot Project to Build Advanced Tumor Imaging System
Even as cancer treatment options are multiplying and becoming more sophisticated, one relatively straightforward approach will always be in play: cutting the diseased tissue out of the body.
One persistent challenge with such cancer surgeries is preserving as much of the affected organ as possible while also ensuring all cancerous cells are removed. The so-called “margins” of a cancerous mass are hard to concretely define even when looking directly through a microscope, and are even more ambiguous in the kind of non-invasive scans patients undergo before surgery.
Mike Kirby named Assistant Vice President for Research Strategic Initiatives at the University of Utah
Kirby officially began his new role on July 1, 2024. He reports to Dr. Erin Rothwell, Vice President for Research.
As AVPRSI, Kirby will spearhead all Engineering Research Center (ERC) proposal submissions for the October 2024 deadline; co-lead the Aerospace Hub with the current team leader, Dr. Jake Hochhalter; and take point and shepherd the University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) submission; among other duties. In addition, Kirby will provide insight and writing support for strategic initiatives to elevate the University and its partnerships under the VPR.
Mendoza, Weiss receive $2.6 million grant to study biomechanics of lung tumors
Responsible AI Summit Sets Stage for Public-private Partnerships
NSF-Funded Team Launches reVISit—Pioneering Open-Source Software for Visualization Research
The Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute today announced the launch of reVISit, a National Science Foundation–backed infrastructure project that empowers visualization researchers to create and maintain ownership of sophisticated user studies.
Martin Berzins Appointed Chair of the DOE ASCAC
Congratulations to Martin Berzins on being appointed Chair of the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC).
ASCAC reports to the Director, DOE Office of Science provides advice and recommendations on scientific, technical, and programmatic issues relating to the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Program.
SCI Mourns the Passing of Alumnus, Colleague, and Friend Steve Parker
Steve Parker passed away due to complications from brain cancer on May 2. Steve was one of the inaugural graduate students who formed the SCI research group in 1994.
That year, he published his first paper on the SCIRun problem solving environment, which continues to have scientific impact 30 years later (https://github.com/SCIInstitute/SCIRun). While writing his dissertation, Steve worked on a side research project on parallel ray tracing that would pave the way for a series of research innovations, the establishment of the Center for Interactive Ray-Tracing and Photo Realistic Visualization, and the start-up company Ray Scale. Steve defended his PhD in 1999 and soon after became our colleague as a SCI Institute Faculty member and an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Utah. In 2008, Steve joined NVIDIA as the Director for High Performance Computing and Computational Graphics and in 2014 became the Vice President for Professional Graphics.
Steve was a profound innovator, a remarkable student, and a wonderful colleague and friend. He was one of the smartest, nicest, and kindest person anyone could know. We will miss him greatly.
We offer our sincere condolences to Steve’s family and many friends.
You can find a list of Steve’s publications here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=J7N6-AgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao