EAGER: Empowering the AI Research Community through Facilitation, Access, and Collaboration
NEWARK, NJ, December 10, 2024 –Edge has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) for the project, EAGER: Empowering the AI Research Community through Facilitation, Access, and Collaboration. This groundbreaking initiative enhances the role of Campus Champions, research computing facilitators at academic institutions, to expand access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) resources, and foster collaborations that democratize AI research.
The project addresses significant barriers in AI research by connecting under-resourced and minority-serving institutions with critical tools and expertise. Through mentorship and opportunities to participate in key conferences such as the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot annual meeting, the Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing (PEARC) conference, and the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC), the initiative empowers Campus Champions to strengthen research capabilities at their institutions. Campus Champions will also participate in discipline-specific conferences, contribute training materials to NAIRR’s resource repository, and engage in partnerships with peer organizations like the Campus Research Computing Consortium (CaRCC) and the Minority Serving – Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC).
Forough Ghahramani, Principal Investigator (PI) of the project and Vice President of Research and Innovation, Edge, comments, “The NSF EAGER award is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration and facilitation in advancing AI research. By equipping Campus Champions with the tools and opportunities to bridge resource gaps, this project fosters innovation and inclusivity across the research community.” Continues Ghahramani, “I am excited to work alongside co-PIs and the Campus Champion Leadership team to strengthen the network of Champions and promote access to AI resources for institutions nationwide, especially those historically underrepresented in research computing.”
“The NSF EAGER award is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration and facilitation in advancing AI research. By equipping Campus Champions with the tools and opportunities to bridge resource gaps, this project fosters innovation and inclusivity across the research community.”
— Dr. Forough Ghahramani
Principal Investigator (PI) of the project and
Assistant Vice President for Research and Innovation
Edge
PI and Co-Principal Investigators include:
- Forough Ghahramani (PI), Ed.D., Vice President for Research and Innovation
- Marina Kraeva, Ph.D. Manager High Performance Computing, Iowa State University of Science and Technology
- Cynthia L. Burrows, Senior Research Facilitator, Research IT Services, University of California, San Diego
- Michael D. Weiner, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist and Research Computing Facilitator, Georgia Tech Research Corp
The project aligns with the National Science Foundation’s mission to advance science, health, prosperity, and equity. By expanding the Campus Champions program, it supports a diverse community of researchers, helping them overcome barriers in AI research through access to national resources and targeted mentorship. Together, the team will work to expand opportunities for under-resourced and minority-serving institutions, fostering an equitable and inclusive research ecosystem.
The Edge proposal was submitted in response to the Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF 24093, announcement about NSF’s interest in receiving EAGER proposals and supplemental funding requests for National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Demonstration Projects to highlight innovative use cases and technologies that make use of the NAIRR Pilot.
About the NAIRR Pilot
The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, led by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has been launched as a proof of concept to demonstrate the value and potential impact of the NAIRR concept as described in the NAIRR Task Force Report.
The NAIRR Pilot aims to address researcher needs by increasing access to a diverse ensemble of AI-related infrastructure resources including computational capabilities, AI-ready datasets, pre-trained models, software systems and platforms. In addition to facilitating for researchers and educators, important aspects of the vision for the NAIRR Pilot includes reaching new and broad communities; fostering positive end user experiences; and building a NAIRR pilot user community. More information about the NAIRR Pilot can be found at the NAIRR Pilot NSF site and at nairrpilot.org.”
For full details about the NSF grant are available here. To learn more about Edge’s commitment to initiatives of this nature, visit https://njedge.net/research/resources-featured-research-reports/.
About Edge
Edge serves as a member-owned, nonprofit provider of high performance optical fiber networking and internetworking, Internet2, and a vast array of best-in-class technology solutions for cybersecurity, educational technologies, cloud computing, and professional managed services. Edge provides these solutions to colleges and universities, K-12 school districts, government entities, hospital networks and nonprofit business entities as part of a membership-based consortium. Edge’s membership spans the northeast, along with a growing list of EdgeMarket participants nationwide. Edge’s common good mission ensures success by empowering members for digital transformation with affordable, reliable and thought-leading purpose-built, advanced connectivity, technologies and services.