Three SBU Faculty Awarded SUNY-IBM AI Research Alliance Grants

Niranjan Balasubramanian

Three Stony Brook University faculty in the Department of Computer Science are among 14 researchers from the State University of New York's four university centers who have been awarded 2024 SUNY-IBM AI Research Alliance grants. The alliance is part of a partnership between New York State and IBM to create a global research hub for developing next-generation AI hardware.

Professor Erez Zadok and associate professors Michael Ferdman and Niranjan Balasubramanian, along with 11 other faculty from the University at Albany, Binghamton University and the University at Buffalo, were awarded grants for projects ranging from cloud computing to sustainable energy to optimizing the next generation of supercomputers.

Michael Ferdman

"As AI becomes further interwoven into every aspect of our society-from education and entertainment to healthcare and industry-SUNY has a central role to play in keeping New York State at the forefront of AI research and development," said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., who announced the grants on October 28. "Thanks to our partners at IBM, we can keep the momentum going by taking on significant AI research endeavors. Our SUNY faculty and researchers are truly exceptional, and it is through their dedication that SUNY will position New York State as a leader in artificial intelligence research and development thanks in part to the significant New York State investment and resources in the Empire AI consortium. We are particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of this work being centered right here in the Empire State."

"We are excited to see such impactful research from Stony Brook Computer Science faculty in the SUNY-IBM AI Research Alliance awardees," said Andrew Singer, dean of Stony Brook's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "Professors Balasubramanian, Ferdman and Zadok are working to develop tools and solutions for efficient execution of large-scale AI systems encompassing both hardware and software-based approaches toward reducing system costs and enhancing performance, while dramatically improving their energy requirements and carbon footprint, which is the single largest challenge of the current AI revolution."

Erez Zadok

The SUNY-IBM partnership has resulted in the launch of 22 projects. The alliance aims to promote scientific research, innovation, and technology commercialization opportunities by leveraging both parties' research expertise, strategic interests, and key assets in AI and related areas. This partnership enhances and enriches both SUNY's and IBM's capabilities and underscores their commitment to advancing AI for economic growth and common good.

SUNY is a founding member of Governor Kathy Hochul's Empire AI Consortium, which is supported by over $400 million in public and private resources. Empire AI will cement New York State's position at the vanguard of AI research and development, as it prepares students for careers in the rapidly emerging field. SUNY researchers are committed to using AI for social good, including developing new technologies that address food insecurity, the shortage of speech-language pathologists in K-12 education, information integrity and deepfakes, and the need for improved stroke treatment and medical imaging.

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