Second Annual AI Days at UF

AI Days is back at the University of Florida from Oct. 16-20. All faculty, students, and staff are welcome to join UF’s AI2 Center for five days of competitions, faculty panels, and AI events.

Oct. 16 — Student Competitions

Students are invited to compete in three competitions that feature up to $60,000 in prizes. Registration deadlines and requirements vary. Visit ai.ufl.edu/ai-days/ for information about each competition.

Oct. 17-18 — AI Teaching & Research Symposium, Poster Presentations

This year’s AI Days includes a two-day symposium on various topics of AI teaching and research.  View the schedule here. Faculty, students, and staff are also invited to present posters featuring AI in their discipline. (Registration is required to present.)

Oct. 19 — AI Workforce Readiness

Thursday’s panel features experts on navigating an AI-integrated workforce and the new realities of conducting a job search with an AI perspective.

Oct. 20 — College-Specific AI Events

Departments across campus are hosting events to conclude the 2023 AI Days, including UFIT which is facilitating an NIVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) workshop on using the new Omniverse tool. The DLI workshop is titled, “Synthetic Data Generation for Training Computer Vision Models.”

Summer Tech Byte: Generative AI Prompts

UFIT is continuing its online Tech Byte cooking shows this summer! Instructional designer Leslie Mojeiko and educational technologist Chris Sharp are back in the test kitchen. Or shall we say…tech kitchen!

Wednesday, July 26
2:30-3:30pm

Join UFIT’s Center for Instructional Technology & Training (CITT) for a fun, free event to learn generative AI “recipes” to enhance course design and teaching. Leslie and Chris will share tips for writing effective prompts for ChatGPT and AI image generators, and suggest ways how generative AI can help make class prep and assignment design more efficient. This one-hour cooking show includes demonstrations of AI in action. Register today and prepare to gather recipes for course preparation. You’ll leave this Tech Byte with your very own ‘cookbook’ to get started with “prompt engineering!”

Visit The AI Prompt Cookbook — Generative AI Recipes Designed to Enhance Teaching webpage for more information.

2023 UF+NVIDIA Hackathon

Together with NVIDIA and OpenACC, UFIT is hosting the second annual University of Florida Open Hackathon from May 17 – May 25, 2023.

Advanced parallel computing or GPU skills are NOT required. However, it is helpful for teams to know the basics of GPU programming and profiling. The application deadline is March 1, 2023, with selected teams being notified shortly thereafter.

Scientist and computing experts from NVIDIA, along with UFIT’s Research Computing AI team, will serve as mentors to help the hackathon teams optimize their code for GPU acceleration. UFIT will provide HiPerGator as the work platform for the hackathon. Priority acceptance will be given to UF-affiliated research groups and their collaborators, but faculty, students, and research staff from all Florida universities and SEC member institutions are encouraged to apply. Anyone with questions about the application process or the hackathon contest format are welcome to contact AI Support Team Lead Ms. Ying Zhang.

Medical Imaging for AI Research Inquiries

UFIT is hosting two MONAI-focused tutorials in July. Both tutorials will be held via Zoom:

Tutorial Name: MONAI Core
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Registration Link
Description: MONAI Core is a PyTorch based and GPU-accelerated deep learning framework, specifically designed for medical imaging. This tutorial will cover:
Why MONAI Core: the unique and impactful features of MONAI Core
MONAI Core on HiPerGator: end-to-end demo on HiPerGator

Tutorial Name: MONAI Label for Medical Imaging with NVIDIA
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Registration Link
Description: MONAI Label is an open-source medical-imaging-specific tool for both AI-assisted annotation and building your own AI annotation models. This tutorial has two parts:
An in-depth MONAI Label introduction
A step-by-step demo on HiPerGator

MONAI is a freely available, community-supported, PyTorch-based framework for deep learning in healthcare imaging. MONAI provides domain-optimized foundational capabilities for developing healthcare imaging training workflows in a native PyTorch paradigm. Anyone with questions about the MONAI tutorials or other training opportunities offered by UFIT Research Computing may contact Dr. Matt Gitzendanner.

Free AI Micro-Credential Courses for Staff

Now is the time to increase your working knowledge of AI through professional development short courses offered by UF. The Provost’s Office is making the four-hour version of each course available to faculty and staff at no cost. The seven course topics, developed in collaboration with the Colleges of Business, Engineering, Liberal Art & Sciences, and Agricultural and Life Sciences, are:

1. Fundamentals of AI
2. Fundamentals of AI (STEM majors)
3. Applications of AI (Engineering)
4. Ethics of AI
5. Business and AI
6. Data Science and AI
7. Agricultural & Life Sciences and AI

The courses were developed to provide a foundation in machine learning and its impacts across a range of careers and disciplines. The micro-credential option provides a way to learn the lexicon of artificial intelligence, its current uses, and understand the near-limitless possibilities of the AI-supported environment. Upon successful completion of the assessments in the course, participants are eligible to earn a certificate of completion and 0.4 continuing education units (CEUs). To register, visit https://pwd.aa.ufl.edu/ai/courses/.

The discount code for UF faculty and staff is available by emailing Dr. Regina Rodriguez. Anyone wanting more information on the AI micro-credential, or who has questions about the registration process, may also contact Dr. Rodriguez.

UF and Nvidia Co-Hosting Hackathon

UF and Nvidia, in collaboration with OpenACC, are jointly hosting the UF Hackathon from March 29–April 6, 2022. The deadline for teams to apply is
Feb. 21, with selected teams being notified shortly thereafter.

UFIT’s AI team, along with Nvidia AI staff, will serve as mentors to help teams parallelize and optimize code for GPU acceleration. UFIT is also providing HiPerGator AI as the work platform for the UF Hackathon. Teams from the University of Florida have priority during the application process, but teams from other Florida universities and all SEC universities are also able to apply.

The UF Hackathon is a multi-day, intensive hands-on event designed to help computational scientists and researchers port and optimize their applications using GPUs. It pairs participants with dedicated mentors experienced in GPU programming and development in AI, high performance computing, and data science applications. The event will utilize computing resources from HiPerGator AI, currently ranked as the 2nd most powerful supercomputer in U.S. higher education.

Participating teams will leave the event either with applications running on GPUs or a clear roadmap of next steps to leverage GPUs. Anyone with questions about the UF-Nvidia Hackathon may contact Ms. Ying Zhang, applications specialist and AI team lead for UFIT.

Build Your Online Profile with Free Expert Help

Plan on attending the 2022 Tech Fair (Feb. 23-24, 11am-1pm). Whether you need to boost your LinkedIn, e-Portfolio, or GitHub profile (or all three!), UFIT and Career Connections Center (C3) experts will be available to help you. See you on Tech Plaza!

e-Portfolio
At the e-Portfolio tent, connect with UFIT’s technical experts to figure out which platform will be easiest for you to manage. C3 coaches will also be there to support you with:
Organizing the content shared in your e-Portfolio
Showcasing your experiences in a meaningful way
Translating your past experiences to highlight your skills

AI and the Job Search
Career Connections Center staff will also be in the UF Informatics Institute to help you:
Understand how AI is utilized in the job search process
Customize your application materials to maximize your job search
Explore strategies for interviewing through virtual and AI platforms

UFIT scientist and training lead Matt Gitzendanner will also be in the UF Informatics Institute. Leverage his expertise with Git and GitHub to maximize your GitHub profile!

LinkedIn
In the LinkedIn tent, get expert advice on courses to watch that can strengthen your market viability. Additionally, C3 staff can assist with:
Completing your LinkedIn profile
Maximizing your connections and build your network
Exploring potential careers through the UF Alumni search and other LinkedIn tools

NVIDIA Workshop for UF: Accelerating Data Science Flows

UFIT is hosting Accelerated Data Science with RAPIDS, a two-day workshop. The workshop, part of NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute (DLI), will be taught in two, four-hour sessions from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on November 15 and 17.

In Accelerated Data Science with RAPIDS, developers will learn to build and execute end-to-end GPU accelerated data science workflows to quickly explore, iterate, and get their work into production. Using the RAPIDS accelerated data science libraries, developers are able to apply a variety of GPU-accelerated machine learning algorithms, including XGBoost, cuGRAPH’s single-source shortest path, and cuML’s KNN, DBSCAN, and logistic regression to perform data analysis at scale. Workshop attendees get access to fully configured, GPU-accelerated servers in the cloud and guidance from a DLI-certified instructor. The workshop has a registration limit of 100, so registering early is strongly recommended. A $10 registration fee covers both sessions. Please contact Ms. Ying Zhang, AI team lead, with any questions about this workshop or other upcoming AI training and events.

The November 2021 AI and NVIDIA training schedule is listed below. Details and registration links are available on https://help.rc.ufl.edu/doc/Training.

Nov. 4: NVIDIA Metropolis
Nov. 9: AI in Matlab at RC
Nov. 15: NVIDIA DLI Workshop Accelerated Data Science with RAPIDS (part one)
Nov. 17: NVIDIA DLI Workshop Accelerated Data Science with RAPIDS (part two)
Nov. 30: NVIDIA CLARA Imaging

Sharing UF’s AI Journey with the World

Enhancements to UF’s https://ai.ufl.edu/ website (AI) debuted on January 26. The site now more fully showcases UF’s commitment to integrate AI across academic, research, and outreach efforts. The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing partnered with UFIT’s Web Services to bring about the site enhancements.

“The story we want to share digitally is one that encompasses all aspects of AI at UF,” notes Melanie Schramm, assistant vice president for strategic communications. “UF’s AI Initiative touches on every aspect of the university. Working with UFIT, this site will help us share information and discoveries with stakeholders around the world.”

The new design features a restructured homepage with content blocks dedicated to university-wide research and announcements. Two new tabs have been added: the Industry tab details UF’s investments in solidifying its role as the first “AI University,” while the News tab lists updates and events from departments and units. Students can also check out the chart on the Academics tab that lists all new and enhanced undergraduate and graduate courses that include AI components. The popular Calendar link lists the symposia, trainings, webinars, and other events focusing on AI across the enterprise. UF Human Resources also has a Jobs page dedicated solely to the AI-focused faculty and staff positions available with the university.