KINGSTON, R.I. – December 8, 2025 – Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and students, faculty, and staff at the University of Rhode Island are using the evolving technology for research, education, and innovation purposes.
The effective and creative ways AI has been applied across universities will be discussed and showcased at Discovering AI @ URI Day on January 1, 2016. December 10th from 4pm to 7:30pmin rooms 040 and 045 of URI's Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering at 45 Upper College Road on the Kingston campus.
The free event will feature guest speakers, panel discussions, and poster presentations. Light refreshments will be provided. The URI community welcomes you to share your AI success stories. Anyone interested in attending the event is encouraged to RSVP.
“As Rhode Island's flagship R1 research university, URI has a responsibility to lead the development and thoughtful application of AI across higher education,” said Gaurav Khanna, URI's assistant vice president for research computing. “By leveraging advances in AI, URI will expand discovery, prepare students for an AI-powered workforce, and drive innovation that will benefit Rhode Island and the rest of the world.”
Khanna is also the director of URI's AI and Computational Research Institute. The Institute supports and promotes advanced interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary computational research, including AI-related research.
Guest speakers for Discovering AI @ URI Day include:
- Victoria Gu, Chair of the Rhode Island Senate Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Committee and Representative for Rhode Island Senate District 38
- URI President and Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Wolfe
- Gabriele Fariello, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Technology, URI
- Jan (Lindsay) Sun, certified AI strategist and co-director of the URI Center for Cyber-Physical Intelligence and Security (CYPHER), which she founded
“Artificial intelligence will impact almost every aspect of higher education,” Sun said. “What makes the Discovering AI @ URI event special is that it reflects this complete ecosystem. We not only hear from the faculty and students who consistently showcase remarkable innovations, but also from the staff behind the scenes who keep the university running.”
The faculty panel discussion, moderated by Karen Lokey, associate director of ITS Innovation Services at URI, will include:
- Traves Smalley, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History
- Yin Chang, Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
- Megan Chiovaro, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering
- Professor Emeritus Peter Cornyon, Graduate School of Oceanography
- Abdeltawab Hendawi, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Statistics
Sun will moderate the staff panel discussion. Its contents are as follows:
- Ryan Gardiner, Chief Executive Officer, Faculty of Engineering
- Chelsie Sullivan, CYPHER Research Center Coordinator
- Lisa Chen, Information Technology Services Teaching and Learning Support
- Brian Blanchette, Director of Systems and Technology, URI Foundation
Jim McGwin, adjunct professor in the School of Business, will moderate a panel discussion with undergraduate and graduate students representing a variety of majors and interests.
At URI, there is a wealth of support and technology available for students to gain hands-on experience with AI. Led by Keith Ranaldi, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Library Innovation Lab is conceived as a collaborative hub that connects people's ideas and resources across disciplines. Ranaldi and his staff were primarily responsible for coordinating the Discovering AI @ URI event.
“We helped coordinate efforts across departments and universities to ensure that the work being done in AI research and applications was visible to the entire campus community,” Ranaldi said.
Applications of AI by URI faculty, students, and staff will be on full display at the Discovering AI @ URI event.
