November 6, 2023
While on academic leave, Associate Professor Andrew White is serving as head of science for Future House. (°µĶų³Ō¹Ļ photo / J. Adam Fenster)
One of our faculty members is helping former Google CEO Eric Schmidt launch an ambitious new nonprofit aiming to shake up the future of scientific research. Associate Professor from the is currently on academic leave serving as head of science for Future House, which was .
Future House aims to build semi-autonomous artificial intelligence that can scale scientific research, accelerate the pace of discovery, and provide world-wide access to cutting-edge scientific, medical, and engineering expertise. Andrew has been a vocal proponent of using large language models like GPT-4 to reimagine scientistsā tools and experiments and spoke to Bloomberg about how he envisions AI can accelerate the scientific process.
āI think most scientists probably read five papers a week. Imagine what’s going to happen when you have systems that can process all 10,000 papers that are coming out every day,ā says Andrew. āIn some fields, the limiting factor is not the equipment. It’s not really the cost. It’s the ability of humans to come up with the next experiment.ā
While on leave, Andrew continues to serve as Ā a group of researchers hired to help mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence models by testing the platformās capacity for harmful, illegal, or even unintended output. Heās also been involved in policy discussions with US and UK governments, as well as various non-profits on AI policy. Thanks to Andrew for all the work heās doing on the forefront of a rapidly changing field thatās ripe with potential.
Ā PANEL ON REGULATING AIāS FUTURE
As debates intensify on howāand whetherāto regulate artificial intelligence, the University will host a panel discussion this week about charting AIās future. , the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor of Political Science and Business Administration, will moderate a discussion featuring leading experts at the nexus of technology and policy. Panelists will include:
- Sara Collins, Director of Government Affairs, Public Knowledge
- Mehtab Khan, Fellow, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University
- Hodan Omaar, Senior Policy Analyst, ITIF Center for Data Innovation
- Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
The event, sponsored by the Politics and Markets Project, is free and open to the Rochester community. It takes place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8 in Wegmans Hall, Auditorium 1400. .
RESUME NIGHT
Students can join Women and Minorities in Computing (WiC-MiC) and the Greene Center tonight for an opportunity to learn how to build a great rƩsumƩ and receive personal feedback. The first 20 attendees will get a rƩsumƩ kit giveaway. The event takes place Monday, November 6 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Data Science Suite (1201 Wegmans Hall).
PANEL ON EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
The Department of Chemical Engineeringās panel discussion on equity and inclusion will feature, from left to right, Taylor Chartier ā12 ā13 MS, Fatou Diop ā20, Sheila Yalley ā22 MS, and Abby Zabrodsky ā14, ā19 MBA.
The Department of Chemical Engineering will host a virtual panel discussion on equity and inclusion in the field featuring four Rochester alumnae. The event takes place from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, November 17 via Zoom.
The panelists include Taylor Chartier ā12 ā13 MS, CEO of Modicus Prime; Fatou Diop ā20, now a PhD candidate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Sheila Yalley ā22 MS, a production engineer at Sun Chemical, and Abby Zabrodsky ā14, ā19 MBA, director of business development at Advanced Manufacturing Technology Inc.
The event is free and open for anyone to attend. and submit your questions to the panelists by emailing Undergraduate Program Coordinator Jennifer Condit.
STUDENTS ADVANCE TO NORTH AMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP IN PROGRAMMING CONTEST
Our students had a strong showing at the (ICPC). Rochester fielded four of the 177 teams from the Northeast and East Central regions that competed on October 29.
Rochesterās Team #1ācomposed of MS student Xiaoou Zhou, Yan Zou ā27, and Zeyu Nie ā24āsolved nine of 12 problems and placed as the third university in the Northeast region, behind just MIT and Harvard. They advance to the ICPC North America Championship to be held in Florida next year.
Other students who participated included Lam Pham ā26, Tran Duy Anh Le ā25, Xingzhi Ye ā25, Yekai Pan ā26, Shuhan Li, ā26, Maki Nampei ā27, Vuong Ho ā24, and Isabel Humphreys ā27. Please join me in congratulating all the students who competed.
STRATEGIC PLAN DISCUSSION FORUMS
The Rochester community has two upcoming opportunities to discuss the direction of the University and itsĀ .
JoinĀ Provost David Figlio and Deputy to the President Joe TestaniĀ at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 8Ā for a discussion forum. An overview of the plan will be followed by a conversation with David about our commitment to “Research Excellence and Global Reputation.” Staff, faculty, and students are invited to join the discussion and ask questions. It is free and open to all, butĀ .
All students, faculty, and staffĀ are also invited to join a discussion forumĀ on Friday, Nov. 17, at noonĀ to learn more about the plan, ask questions, and provide feedback. The session will be led by members of the strategic plan Implementation Team. It is free and open to all, butĀ .
UPCOMING CELEBRATIONS OF NOTE
Friday marks Veterans Day, and the University will host the annual beginning at 7 a.m.
The month of November is Native American Heritage Month. The University will host several programs throughout the month, including from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 12.
Have a great week!
Your Dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
