OU leads nationwide project to train researchers in critical AI domains

Led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with 13 federal agencies and 28 private-sector contributors, the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) was created to provide researchers with high-performance computing, data and AI tools.

Beginning in 2024, the two-year NAIRR Pilot program has fostered broad access to cutting-edge AI research. In collaboration with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Oakland University is leading a NAIRR Pilot expansion project to increase awareness and promote broader adoption of the NAIRR Pilot.

The project will organize two 12-workshop series over two years, offering hands-on training for emerging researchers to leverage NAIRR capabilities in three critical domains: AI for Cybersecurity & Trustworthy AI, Edge AI and Autonomous Driving.

The workshops will provide guidance on integrating NAIRR's computational resources, datasets, and AI frameworks in the R&D efforts to develop secure, efficient and impactful AI use cases in these three domains.

Dr. Huirong Fu, OU professor of computer science and engineering, is the project's lead principal investigator. Fu and her team's long-term research goals include advancing secure, trustworthy, and deployable AI for high-impact domains and translating that work into reusable training and research pathways.

"The initiative has the potential to empower a diverse research community by lowering barriers to AI research participation," said Dr. Fu. "It will equip researchers with the knowledge and tools to develop secure and innovative AI systems, fostering advancements in cybersecurity, autonomous systems and other interdisciplinary AI applications."

Co-principal investigators from Oakland University are Dr. Yao Qiang, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, Dr. Lanyu Xu, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, Dr. Mohammad Wardat, assistant professor of computer science and engineering and Dr. Darrin Hanna, professor of engineering.

Collaborators from Worcester Polytechnic Institute are principal investigator Dr. Jun Dai, associate professor of computer science; and co-principal investigators Dr. Xiaoyan Sun, associate professor of computer science, Dr. Craig Shue, professor of computer science, and Dr. Xiaozhong Liu, associate professor of computer science and data science.

As EAGER NAIRR Pilot Expansion awardees, they are training researchers through the workshop series, which packages methods, labs and case studies into portable modules, with early outcomes already spanning multi-domain projects and dissemination that includes posters and peer-reviewed papers.

In addition to creating repeatable and open pipelines that allow researchers to learn, replicate and extend the work of integrating secure AI, the project will also foster mentoring and community networks for researchers across different career stages.

The workshops utilize the Jetstream2 cloud resource, led by Indiana University and supported by the NSF, to enable widespread seamless use of the project's training modules.

Training scientific researchers to utilize NAIRR capabilities is critical in advancing the nation's science and technology. Expanding the pilot program through these workshops will help establish NAIRR as a scalable, national AI infrastructure which will support the entire U.S. scientific community, including researchers, educators, students, startups and small businesses.

For more information or to register for the workshops, visit http://secs.oakland.edu/ei/NAIRR.