National AI Institute for Exceptional Education Ribbon Cutting

Good afternoon, everyone!

I am so pleased you could join us for the grand opening of the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education.

To begin, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a longtime friend of our university, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Senator Schumer, I know you share our pride on this very special day. On behalf of our entire university community, I would like to thank you for your steadfast support for federally funded academic research. That includes a $1.25 million Congressionally Directed Spending Request for a new Center for Accelerated Innovation through Materials to establish a materials innovation hub that will help UB lead the state and nation’s transition into a clean energy economy.

Thank you, Senator Schumer.

Because of your support for federally funded research, we are able to make a profound impact on the communities that we serve, which includes the work we are doing through UB’s National AI Institute for Exceptional Education.

I am also very pleased to acknowledge and welcome to UB the Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan.

Dr. Panchanathan, it is a privilege to have you with us on campus today. Allow me to extend my gratitude to you, and the National Science Foundation, for this extraordinary recognition of UB’s leadership in artificial intelligence.

As I just noted, this is a very special day for our scholarly community.

In January of 2023, we celebrated the New Year with the exciting news that NSF had awarded UB $20 million to establish and lead the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education.

Given that date, some might argue that this ribbon-cutting ceremony was 15 months in the making. I would contend, however, that today was actually decades in the making.

Long before “AI” was on everyone’s lips—and smart devices were on everyone’s wrists—UB was already conducting groundbreaking research in machine learning. Over the decades, we expanded our inquiries into artificial intelligence, and dramatically enhanced the depth of our disciplinary expertise.

As a result, today UB is known as a national and international power-house in this cutting-edge field. Indeed, we have more than 200 faculty across dozens of disciplines dedicating themselves to responsible AI research and application. They are harnessing this powerful technology to inform medical interventions and clinical care, mitigate the destructive forces of climate change and ensure the integrity and security of information.

Truly, UB’s artificial intelligence research is both incredibly diverse and impressively wide-ranging. It has implications for every corner of society. And yet, a unifying through line connects all these scholarly investigations, namely, our enduring commitment to the greater good.

I can think of no more meaningful way to articulate that commitment than by investing in our children.

With this NSF award, researchers are advancing A.I. systems to help children with speech and language disorders. The impactful interventions developed here will prevent young learners from falling behind at a formative stage in their education.

These breakthroughs will build children’s self-esteem, enhance their academic performance and set them up for future success. Ultimately, the discoveries made at this institute will transform the lives of children and families in ways that transcend metrics.

I consider this work nothing less than noble for its potential to cultivate just and inclusive environments that enable our children to flourish.

To conclude, allow me to express my appreciation to all the members of UB’s National AI Institute for Exceptional Education.

Thanks to your multi-disciplinary expertise, this institute is closing the gap for children with speech and language processing challenges. I am grateful for—and inspired by—your dedication to leveraging your scholarly insights and innovation on behalf of society.

Finally, I would like to reiterate my gratitude to both Senator Schumer, for your strong support of federally funded academic research; and Dr. Panchanathan, for the meaningful affirmation of UB’s AI leadership that we celebrate today, and of course, your visionary leadership of the National Science Foundation.

Thank you!

And Dr. Panchanathan and the National Science Foundation, Senator Schumer, and our entire Western New York delegation.

Thank you!