Karen Plaut – October Dimensions of Discovery Introduction
Dear Colleagues,
As we read in the news daily, AI tools are no longer confined to computer science laboratories – they're driving advancements in fields as diverse as biology, engineering and social sciences. This is evident at Purdue, where we embrace AI to accelerate discovery and reshape how research is conducted — all while contributing to AI’s evolution.
Our Purdue research community is leveraging AI tools to break down traditional academic silos and solve some of the most pressing challenges of our time. In fact, Purdue sits among the top universities nationwide for AI infrastructure. A story in this edition of Dimensions of Discovery outlines Purdue’s approach. In it, Preston Smith, director of Purdue’s Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, shares that investigators “…are doing AI research and building new large language models. Faculty in computer science and electrical and computer engineering are building new models to advance the state of AI itself”
To drive advances, last year we launched the Institute of Physical AI (IPAI), which is part of Purdue Computes. IPAI is helping us make an unprecedented push into the “bytes-meet-atoms” research space in four focus areas: We make, We move, We grow, and We thrive. All this AI-related work requires a state-of-the-art infrastructure with a high-performance computing (HPC) platform and AI tools for researchers.
Earlier this month, we launched the new Gautschi supercomputer. Gautschi and Anvil, another supercomputer launched in 2022, are critical additions to the next generation of Purdue’s “community cluster” supercomputing network. To further bolster HPC, the Purdue Board of Trustees recently approved a $16 million renovation to the Mathematical Sciences Building Data Center, which is home to our supercomputers. Taken together, these infrastructure upgrades will benefit researchers in more than 300 research labs in 66 departments across Purdue campuses.
Whether engaged in research or teaching, Purdue faculty can readily access numerous AI tools, including Scite.ai., iThenticate 2.0., Rohan and others. Purdue Libraries publishes a Library Guide on Artificial Intelligence to help faculty, staff and students use the growing number of Purdue’s AI resources.
This issue of Dimensions of Discovery highlights how our researchers, with AI-focused tools and infrastructure at their fingertips, are driving discovery while shaping AI itself. Some featured Boilermaker-led advances include use of AI-powered chatbots to interpret passenger commands and make autonomous vehicles safer, CHORUS – a Purdue-led, NSF-funded center to enhance security and resilience in cyber-physical platforms like fully automated transportation system (add link), and selection of a Purdue team to enhance AI hardware through the Microelectronic Commons program. AI also plays a key role in advanced manufacturing at Purdue, as noted at recent events marking the College of Engineering’s eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations (XMO) initiative and the site launch of the William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals.
As AI continues to evolve, so will its role in how we conduct our research. At the forefront of AI innovation, Purdue is leading the charge into a new era of discovery – developing solutions to important challenges and shaping the boundaries of what is possible.
Karen Plaut
Executive Vice President for Research