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December 2024 Issue
Table of Contents:
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Season’s Greetings from AIVO
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AIVO Awarded a Grant from Google.org
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NSF OAC Office Hours Launch on January 17, 2025
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NAIRR Pilot Seeks Datasets to Facilitate AI Education and Researcher Skill Development
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Silver Lining for Learning Podcasts on National AI Institutes
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AIVO Communications Office Hours
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SAIL and Expo Day 2025 Planning
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Farm Robotics Challenge: Application Deadline Extended to January 17, 2025
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January 17, 2025 Deadline Reminder: AI-SDM Summer Workshop for High School Educators
Season's Greetings from AIVO
Happy Holidays from the AIVO team! As 2024 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on all the wonderful moments we shared this year.
Let’s look back at what happened in the AI Institutes community:
- Supported via our SIGs program, the AI for Agriculture Summit: A Visioning Conference, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C.
- Sold out the Summit for AI Institutes Leadership Conference (SAIL)
- Welcomed two new AI Institutes
- Formed a new SIG, AI4Ed
- Received a $1.75M grant from Google.org to fund AI in education as well as education about AI
As we look ahead to 2025, it’s with unbounded excitement. We can’t wait to make more happy memories with you next year!
– Warmest wishes from Steve, Kiran, Georgi, Phong, and John
AIVO Awarded a Grant from Google.org
AIVO is pleased to announce that we’ve been awarded a $1.75M grant from Google.org, the philanthropic division of Google. Two new programs will be funded, including:
- Ed4AI: Helps all 27 AI Institutes individually and collectively to improve education, outreach, and workforce development.
- AI4Ed: Supports the five Education AI Institutes individually and collectively.
These programs will roll out starting in January 2025. Stay tuned for updates on activities sponsored by the Google.org grant.
NSF OAC Office Hours Launch January 17, 2025
Every other Friday, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Save the date! The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) Concierge Team is hosting virtual office hours for the AI Institutes, starting January 17, 2025.
No-Cost Access to National Advanced Computing Resources
Drop in to the office hours to discover how you can leverage cyberinfrastructure resources made available to U.S.-based researchers at no cost! These sessions will feature offerings from the NSF-funded Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program, the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, and the NSF-funded CloudBank resource. Learn about the opportunities available to you and get your questions answered by experts on the various initiatives.
Zoom information will be announced soon.
Q1 2025 Schedule
Every other Friday, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
- January 17
- January 31
- February 14
- February 28
- March 14
- March 28
More about ACCESS
- Visit the ACCESS website to learn about available resources.
- Explore the cyberinfrastructure resources available to the AI Institutes, free of cost, through the ACCESS program.
- Read about the ACCESS program in the October issue of AIVO News.
NAIRR Pilot Seeks Datasets to Facilitate AI Education and Researcher Skill Development
The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot is designed to help build a brighter future for AI research. Led by NSF, in collaboration with 12 other agencies, the NAIRR Pilot is currently seeking datasets that will enable a broader set of researchers and educators, particularly newcomers to AI, to join the AI research and education community.
The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) aims to identify datasets that researchers and educators can use to facilitate the development of AI skills in the classroom, at a workshop, or in other educational environments to further develop the nation’s AI workforce.
Join the NAIRR Pilot Data DCL Webinar on January 8, 2025 for details.
During the webinar, you’ll learn how the community can respond to the DCL and the criteria that will be used to choose the datasets. There will also be a Q&A session after the review of the DCL.
Learn more and register for the webinar.
NSF plans to point to these datasets through the NAIRR Pilot Portal.
More about NAIRR
- Visit the NAIRR Pilot page on the NSF website.
- Read about the Pilot and the Portal in the October issue of AIVO News.
- Read about AIIRA and the NAIRR Classroom Kickoff in the November issue of AIVO News.
Silver Lining for Learning Podcasts on National AI Institutes
Tune into Silver Lining for Learning (SLL)! SLL is an ongoing conversation on the future of learning to discuss the creation of equitable, humanistic, and sustainable learning ecosystems that meet the needs of all learners.
Most podcasts are hosted on YouTube Saturdays, 5:30–6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
These education-focused AI Institutes have been highlighted:
The podcast featuring AI-ALOE will air in February 2025!
Read the SLL post on the AIVO website to learn more.
AIVO Communications Office Hours Kick Off January 24, 2025
Do you need writing or editing support for your Institute’s communications? Do you have a communications-related question?
Attend the next AIVO Communications Office Hours!
- Find out how to get a feature article placed in AIVO News or on the AIVO website
- Get advice on your messaging for feature articles and press releases
- Request a review of your draft communications
No need to RSVP – join if you can. Calendar invitations will be sent upon request to aivo@ucdavis.edu.
Monthly Schedule through May 2025
- Friday, January 24, 2025, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
- Friday, February 21, 2025, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
- Friday, March 21, 2025, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
- Friday, April 18, 2025, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
- Friday, May 16, 2025, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
Join Info
- Join Zoom Meeting: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/5102616773?pwd=ZuKT3mgYMshb2lNQQRtM73Odew6gCD.1&omn=97984366162
- Meeting ID: 510 261 6773
- Passcode: 446708
- One tap mobile
- +16699006833,,5102616773#,,,,*446708# US (San Jose)
- +16694449171,,5102616773#,,,,*446708# US
SAIL and Expo Day 2025 Planning Underway
Planning for SAIL 2025 has begun, and the planning committee will start meeting soon. The date ranges we’re looking at for SAIL, based on survey responses, are October 13–15, 2025 and October 22–24, 2025. We’re decoupling Expo Day from SAIL.
There’s still time to join the planning committees for SAIL or Expo Day 2025!
Farm Robotics Challenge: Application Deadline Extended to January 17, 2025
Please help us spread the word about this competition! Through the Farm Robotics Challenge competition, students can solve on-farm challenges for growers using AI, automation, and robotics.
Learn More about the Competition
- Visit the Farm Robotics Challenge website.
- View the Farm Robotics Challenge 2025 Flyer.
- Watch a recording of the Farm Robotics Challenge 2025 Info Session (on YouTube).
- Read the post about the competition on the AIVO website.
January 17, 2025 Deadline Reminder: AI-SDM Summer Workshop for High School Educators
AI-SDM is empowering high school educators to prepare their students for the future!
For the second year in a row, the Institute is hosting a workshop to help educators become AI-empowered. The five-day virtual session will be held July 7–11, 2025, 12:00–3:00 p.m. EDT. There are no requirements for participants to have a prior coding, computer science, or AI background.
Interested high school educators can apply on the AI-SDM website. Applications should be submitted early as space is limited. The application deadline is January 17, 2025. Accepted applicants will be notified by January 31, 2025.
Learn more on the AI-SDM website or review the event flyer.
Read more about the workshop in the November issue of AIVO News.
