AUM earns $400,000 NSF grant to expand AI research, learning spaces

With the touch of a button, facial recognition, or a voice command, artificial intelligence (AI) can instantly deliver information to a smartphone or detect fraud on a bank account.

As AI continues to transform our tech-driven world, Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is taking steps to ensure its students are prepared to meet evolving workforce needs by positioning itself at the forefront of AI education and research.

With a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), AUM plans to enhance its AI infrastructure and expand its curriculum to meet the growing demand for AI expertise across such disciplines as sciences, engineering, education, environmental science, and health, said Olcay Kursun, assistant professor of computer science and the grant’s principal investigator.

“In light of the growing demand for AI skills across industries, AUM is working to strengthen its AI programming to ensure that its graduates are prepared to thrive in a technology-driven world,” said Kursun, an AI researcher and expert in the Department of Computer Science.  “These developments align with the university’s commitment to fostering innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and expanding access to AI education for a diverse student body.”

AUM has already built a strong foundation in AI research within the College of Sciences, where faculty and students are using machine learning (ML) and deep learning — two AI areas of study — to conduct research and projects across fields such as bioinformatics, structural biology, neuroscience, environmental science, mathematics, and cybersecurity.

“As part of this new NSF grant, AUM will establish a dedicated ML-Lab that will be designed with student-friendly setups to provide hands-on experience with AI tools to foster learning across multiple disciplines,” Kursun said. “In doing so, it will augment and expand upon our existing AI capabilities on campus, such as an AI lab that was previously developed in the College of Business.”

The two-year, NSF grant will support the integration and application of AI across AUM’s five colleges — Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Sciences, Education, and Nursing and Health Sciences — with the goal of providing more students with a comprehensive, hands-on learning experience in AI. AUM faculty members Sutanu Bhattacharya, Benedict Okeke and Randy Russell will serve as co-principal investigators, collaborating with undergraduate and graduate student researchers to support grant activities and research across the colleges.

“The university’s AI initiatives are designed to not only advance knowledge in these areas, but also ensure that groups currently underrepresented in computer science fields, including African American and female students, are at the forefront of this critical research,” Kursun said.

With the College of Sciences spearheading the grant’s projects, massive changes will be seen across the university with the creation of new advanced AI tools, courses, and collaborative spaces on campus, including additional AI research labs, classrooms for training, and courses focusing on data science, machine learning and deep learning.

Additionally, the research team will design an ML-Bot, a tool akin to a customized ChatGPT, to facilitate the adaptation of machine learning and AI programs and codes to meet specific research and educational needs within each college. Through other hands-on learning opportunities, the researchers plan to establish both in-person training and cloud-based AI services that will enable students to experiment with AI tools remotely and effectively.

“Currently, the Department of Computer Science offers only a foundational machine learning course, with a limited focus on advanced AI techniques,” Kursun said. “This gap in the curriculum has sparked the need for more comprehensive AI courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”

Throughout the two-year grant project, the Department of Computer Science will also upgrade existing campus computer labs, which currently support programming, database, and game development courses. The new lab will be outfitted with 21 new high-performance desktops with specialized GPUs, capable of supporting the complex demands of machine learning algorithms.

“AUM’s commitment to AI research is not limited to computer science. We recognize the critical importance of AI across all disciplines,” said Lei Wu, chair of the Department of Computer Science. “By expanding our AI infrastructure and curriculum, we’re preparing students to engage with AI in their careers and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that will allow them to apply AI in diverse fields like healthcare, business, and environmental science.”

“These upgrades are essential for ensuring our students gain practical experience with AI technologies. With this NSF grant, we can create an environment that supports both in-class learning and independent research, empowering students to innovate and explore AI solutions across disciplines.”

AUM is currently seeing success in applying AI to a variety of fields, with College of Science faculty and students involved in research projects such as using AI for bioimage analysis in collaboration with faculty and students in the Department of Biology and Environmental Science. The vision to integrate AI into non-computer disciplines at AUM is largely due to the support and guidance of the Dean of the College of Sciences Douglas Leaman, who has helped to shape the grant initiative into a campus-wide effort, Kursun said.

“We’re excited to be able to support these kinds of cross-departmental collaborations because they ensure our students and faculty are capable of leveraging AI’s power across diverse fields,” he said.

As part of its mission to expand AI knowledge, AUM will also use the grant to extend its outreach to high school students through AI-focused summer camps and other programming aimed at attracting diverse, young learners to pursue STEM and AI-related degrees at AUM.

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is not just a matter of social equity; it’s also about ensuring that AI technologies are developed with a broad range of perspectives in mind,” Wu said. “We’re proud to be part of the national effort to create a more equitable AI landscape, one that ensures underrepresented communities have a seat at the table in shaping the future of technology.”