July 16, 2022
AI in the SEC

By: SEC Staff
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)
In 2021, the provosts of the 14 Southeastern Conference member universities developed what is believed to be the first athletics conference collaboration to focus on artificial intelligence for workforce development. The SEC Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Consortium brings together the universities to share resources and ideas across a broad array of disciplines for AI advancement.
While the 14 members are partnering to enhance AI and data science, each university is using AI throughout teaching, service and research in its own unique way.
Alabama
University of Alabama’s Dr. Jiaqi Gong is helping to develop AI algorithms for behavior change through a variety of mobile/wearable technology devices. The devices are addressing long-term medication adherence among breast cancer survivors.
Arkansas
University of Arkansas’ Dr. Khoa Luu is working with a local company to deploy an AI-based smart insect systems in farms. The information collected will help with the early identification and ultimate control of pests.
Auburn
With an investment of $2 million by the Office of the Provost, Auburn’s new AI@AU Initiative has more than 100 faculty members involved from across campus.
Florida
The University of Florida is home to the most powerful university-owned AI supercomputer in the nation and hundreds of all-star AI faculty. Florida is applying AI across all fields of study to train a 21st-century AI-enabled workforce.
Georgia
The University of Georgia launched a Presidential Faculty Hiring Initiative in data science and AI, with the goal of hiring a total of 50 faculty in these and related areas through 2023.
Kentucky
The University of Kentucky Master’s Program in Data Science has added a new concentration to its offerings. The new concentration in Software and Systems for Data Science will emphasize topics related to machine learning, data mining and large-scale data science.
LSU
LSU researchers have developed the AI platform DeepDrug™ to discover safe and effective medicine in mere minutes.
Ole Miss
The University of Mississippi created the Institute for Data Science as a resource for future data scientists. It was established in response to the demand for data-savvy professionals in a variety of disciplines and industries.
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University offers an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Data Science degree. Students learn to apply artificial intelligence in one of nine concentrations, such as computational intelligence or statistical modeling.
Missouri
The University of Missouri is a leader in geospatial AI, with a broad portfolio of expertise that shapes applications in the critical areas of defense, health, agriculture and the environment.
South Carolina
The University of South Carolina’s AI Institute combines big data with human knowledge to advance research efforts. In its new research space, more than 30 interdisciplinary researchers are exploring data security, personalized health care, social media and more.
Tennessee
University of Tennessee alumna and professor Lynne Parker is the United States’ AI czar. Parker is leading the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University has two National Science Foundation funded High Performance Computing Systems designed to advance AI research and workflows. Both systems are available to users across the nation through an NSF program.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University engineers are part of a NASA-funded, multi-institution effort to develop safety systems for a mode of transportation that doesn’t exist yet — small, commercial, autonomous planes that move between locations in crowded cities.
