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MCC Daily Tribune

Governor Hochul Announces $20 Million Public-Private Investment to Advance Artificial Intelligence Goals

For Immediate Release: 10/16/2023

$20 Million UAlbany and IBM Joint Investment Will Support the Center for Emerging Artificial Intelligence Systems 

SUNY Chancellor Forms AI Research Group to Help Chart a Course for Future Strategy in Pursuing AI Research, Education, Policy, and Workforce Development 

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a $20 million investment and collaboration between University at Albany and IBM to advance artificial intelligence goals, and a SUNY AI Research Group. Under the Governor’s direction, New York State is leading in AI research and development. Significant investment has helped attract companies to New York's state-of-the-art research centers and create jobs. 

“New Yorkers have a constant ambition to place ourselves at the vanguard of what’s driving change and offer opportunities no one else can,” Governor Hochul said. “AI is fundamentally changing the world we live in, and New York doesn’t just want to get in at the ground floor—we want to set the standard in AI development. With this investment and the creation of the SUNY AI Research Group, we are centering AI within education so we can incubate and foster a brilliant future for New York.” 

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, “SUNY is at the forefront of the wave of development and application of artificial intelligence into higher education and the workforce through research and scholarship, and is proud of our role in supporting Governor Hochul’s vision for leading the nation on AI. SUNY’s AI Research Group brings together top experts and practitioners to cement SUNY as a global leader in AI-focused education, research, and workforce development. I would like to thank Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature for their ongoing investment in AI and, in particular, their investment in the first-ever New York State endowment matching fund, which will spur significant research, including into AI, at our university centers.” 

The UAlbany and IBM $20 million collaboration forms the Center for Emerging Artificial Intelligence Systems (CEAIS), which will power new AI research projects with the help of advanced cloud computing and emerging hardware out of the IBM Research AI Hardware Center. The announcement was made from SUNY’s inaugural AI Symposium at UAlbany. 

The center is the next evolution in UAlbany’s AI Plus initiative, which is integrating teaching and learning about AI across the university’s research and academic enterprise, from data science and semiconductor design to philosophy and the arts. 

University at Albany President Havidán Rodríguez said, “Researchers across UAlbany’s nine schools and colleges are employing artificial intelligence to power new discoveries about our world, and we are committed to giving them the best tools to develop critical new knowledge and advance the state of the art in their fields. The Center for Emerging Artificial Intelligence Systems will significantly expand UAlbany researchers’ access to AI supercomputing resources and make our University a leading academic test bed for some of the latest computing technology developed by IBM.” 

The new center builds on the deep existing alliance between SUNY and IBM, which includes SUNY's involvement in the IBM Research AI Hardware Center founded in 2019, where academic and industry researchers are collaborating on faster, more powerful and more energy-efficient chips.  

IBM Semiconductors and VP, Hybrid Cloud at IBM Research GM Mukesh V. Khare said, “Today IBM is proud to join University at Albany in announcing our collaboration to establish CEAIS, which will spur new research and educational opportunities for the UAlbany community. The creation of this center continues IBM’s track record of innovation and leadership in Albany, which is already home to many of our semiconductor and AI research facilities at the Albany NanoTech Complex. Working together with UAlbany and other ecosystem partners, we look forward to providing opportunities that reinforce the Capital Region and greater Hudson Valley as centers of technology innovation, as well as supporting a New York workforce shaping our nation’s future.” 

The SUNY AI Research Group includes 60 members who will help chart a course for SUNY’s future strategy in pursuing AI research, education, policy, and workforce development to take advantage of the opportunities and challenges presented by AI. The Research Group will also identify existing funding opportunities at all levels that can be used to fund further research while exploring opportunities for strategic partnerships with other institutions. 

The AI Research Group is convened by SUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation & Economic Development F. Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik, and co-chaired by University at Buffalo Vice President for Research and Economic Development Venu Govindaraju and Stony Brook University Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Andrew Singer.  

AI Research Group leads and focus areas include the following: 

  • Data Privacy and Security – SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, Binghamton University Department Chair Computer Science Weiyi Meng; and Stony Brook University Associate Professor, Computer Science, Michalis Polychronakis 
  • Education – Stony Brook University Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mónica Fernández Bugallo; and Binghamton University Associate Dean of Research Meera Sampath 
  • Social Impact; Ethics and Trustworthiness – University at Albany Associate Professor, Philosophy, Jason D’Cruz; and University at Buffalo Katherine Johnson Chair in Artificial Intelligence Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, Atri Rudra 
  • Research and Infrastructure – University at Albany Vice President for Research & Economic Development Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas and University at Buffalo SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Computer Science and Engineering Jinjun Xiong 
  • Workforce and Industry – University at Buffalo SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, Director of Artificial Intelligence Institute, David Doermann; and Stony Brook University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Computer Science, Steven Skiena 

About The State University of New York 

The State University of New York, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2022, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit SUNY's website (www.suny.edu/).

Patrick Morris
Community Relations
10/17/2023