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.”

First Event in Malachowsky Hall’s NVIDIA Auditorium

The Malachowsky Hall for Data Science and Information Technology (DSIT) is a 263,000 sq. ft. academic and research collaboration building for AI and machine learning innovation. Named for UF alumnus and NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky, it seems very appropriate that the first event in DSIT’s NVIDIA Auditorium is an NVIDIA workshop:

Title: Synthetic Data Generation for Training Computer Vision Models
Date: Friday, Oct. 20 │ 9:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Location: NVIDIA Auditorium, Malachowsky Hall Rm. 1000

To register email UFIT Communications with your name, UFID number, and home department or lab affiliation. The workshop is part of NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute and will be taught by an NVIDIA instructor. The full synopsis, including links to review prior to the workshop, is available here.

NOTE: Registrants must complete additional NVIDIA steps to be fully registered for the Oct. 20 workshop. Be sure to read the synopsis and take the appropriate steps provided to ensure your NVIDIA Developer Program account is activated and your DLI cloud space is ready for you to fully engage in the workshop. Anyone with questions about this workshop is welcome to contact UFIT’s AI Support Manager Ying Zhang.

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

Infusing AI Into the Undergraduate Experience

According to a study by Gartner, artificial intelligence (AI) job creation will reach two million net-new jobs in 2025. To prepare graduates for an AI-enabled workforce, UF has begun integrating AI across the curriculum. Every student now has the opportunity to develop a competency in AI regardless of their field of study.

Several new and existing courses include AI in their syllabi. The UF AI website provides a list of all AI-related majors, minors, and courses. Students can also complete a certificate in AI Fundamentals and Applications. The program is available for undergraduates of all majors, and requires a fundamentals course, an ethics course, and one college-specific course.

To learn about applications of AI across the university, students can attend seminars, workshops, and other events. The Center for Undergraduate Research (CUR) is hosting a virtual Artificial Intelligence in Research workshop on April 14, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Denisse Ventura, one of the CUR ambassadors organizing the event, said that all current undergraduates could benefit from understanding AI:

“Not only would students be equipped with skills that can make them more competitive in the job market, but they would also bring unique perspectives that can better diversify the growing research area.”

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.

Launching UF’s AI Initiative

On July 21, the University of Florida announced its partnership with NVIDIA, the multi-national technology company that is the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI). This $70 million initiative will enable UF researchers to solve global challenges, provide unprecedented access to the most powerful AI tools, transform how UF educates its students, and help create the workforce for tomorrow.

The opportunities to profoundly impact the world and lead the way in research and discovery will be powered by HiPerGator and the supercomputing environment built and managed by UFIT. Along with recent enhancements to storage and facilities improvements, UFIT will complete the installation of the NVIDIA GPU system (NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD™ architecture) and design and deploy other required components to support the HiPerGator 3.0 go-live scheduled for January, 2021.

More information about this first-of-its-kind partnership for AI in higher education are available via the following resources:

https://ai.ufl.edu/
UF Press Release
NVIDIA Partnership Announcement