2026 AI Research Summit

2026 AI Research Summit

 

Welcome

The Ohio State University AI Research Summit is an exciting, two-day event hosted by the Translational Data Analytics Institute and AI(x) Hub to showcase AI research across the university in four tracks and jump start collaborations. We look forward to seeing you there!

March 3-4, 2026
8:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Blackwell Inn
2110 Tuttle Park Place

 

General event registration is closed due to capacity.

Poster session signups are open until Feb 25 
or when capacity is filled (whichever comes first).

Tracks and Organizing Committees

Tuesday, March 3

AI and Data Science Foundations

  • Dena Asta
  • Subhadeep Paul
  • Ness Shroff
  • Yingbin Liang 

AI and Health 

  • Qin Ma 
  • Raghu Machiraju
  • Xia Ning 
  • Xiaolin Cheng
  • Courtney Hebert
  • Thomas Hund

Wednesday, March 4

Responsible and Secure AI 

  • Mike Rayo
  • Srini Parthasarathy
  • Dennis Hirsch
  • Zhiqiang Lin

AI for Dynamical Systems and Controls

  • Mike Groeber
  • Qadeer Ahmed

Call for research posters

Graduate students (master’s/PhD), postdocs/research staff, PIs, and research services/vendors are invited to present posters, demonstrations, and/or visualizations related to the four tracks of the OSU AI Research Summit. Submissions are welcome from all inter/disciplinary perspectives. Deadline to register: Monday, Feb. 25, 11:59 PM.

Poster Session Track Schedule

  • Tuesday, March 3, 4:30 - 6:30 PM
    • AI and Data Science Foundations
    • AI and Health
  • Wednesday, March 4 - 4:30 - 6:30 PM
    • Responsible and Secure AI
    • AI and Manufacturing and Materials

Presenter Requirements

  • In addition to approach and methods, presenters should come prepared to explain your research data and the story that they tell. 
  • Maximum width for posters: 48 inches 
  • Demonstration/visualization presenters must bring your own laptop or tablet and should prepare a live or a pre-recorded presentation up to 3 mins. max.
  • Poster session presenters must also register to attend the summit. 
SIGN UP TO PRESENT A RESEARCH POSTER

Tuesday, March 3: AI and Data Science Foundations | AI and Health

More information to come

8:30 - 9:30 AM - Welcome

Headshot of Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf, wearing glasses and a green top, smiling in front of bookshelves.

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf
Faculty Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute
Professor of Computer Science Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
The Ohio State University

 

 

 

Headshot of Ness B. Shroff, Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Ness Shroff
Director, AI(x) Hub; Ohio Eminent Scholar in Networking and Communication, Chaired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University 

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Keynote Address

Enabling Physical AI with Edge Computing 

Headshot of Dr. Victor Bahl, smiling, wearing a dark blazer and light pink shirt, with short dark hair and a mustache, against a neutral gray background.

 

Victor Bahl
Technical Fellow & Chief Technology Officer, Azure for Operators
Microsoft Research; Microsoft Corporation 

 

 

 

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Keynote Panel

Headshot of Dr. Victor Bahl, smiling, wearing a dark blazer and light pink shirt, with short dark hair and a mustache, against a neutral gray background.

 

Victor Bahl
Technical Fellow & Chief Technology Officer, Azure for Operators
Microsoft Research; Microsoft Corporation 

 

 

 

Headshot of Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf, wearing glasses and a green top, smiling in front of bookshelves.

 

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf
Faculty Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute
Professor of Computer Science Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Ness B. Shroff, Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University.

 

Dr. Ness Shroff
Director, AI(x) Hub; Ohio Eminent Scholar in Networking and Communication, Chaired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University 

 

 

10:30 - 10:45 AM 

Break

10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

AI and Data Science Foundations

Speaker Session

Headshot of Jie Ding wearing glasses and a green sweater, smiling outdoors.

 

Dr. Jie Ding
Associate Professor, School of Statistics
University of Minnesota

AI and Health

AI Applications in Disease Prediction and Drug Design

Headshot of Xiaolin Cheng wearing glasses and a collared shirt, smiling against a neutral background.

 

Dr. Xiaolin Cheng
Professor, College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University

 

 

 

Headshot of Rizwan Ahmad wearing a collared shirt, smiling slightly against a neutral background.

 

 

Dr. Rizwan Ahmad
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Grzegorz Rempała smiling, wearing a light green polo and dark jacket, standing indoors with a blurred background.

 

Dr. Grzegorz Rempała
Professor and Chair, Biostatistics and Epidemiology
College of Public Health, The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Matthew Sullivan wearing a collared shirt, smiling outdoors with blurred greenery in the background.

 

 

Dr. Matthew Sullivan
Professor of Microbiology
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Mark Weir wearing glasses and a suit with an orange tie, smiling against a neutral gray background.

 

Dr. Mark Weir
Associate Chair for Research & Innovation; Professor of Health Services Management & Policy
College of Public Health, The Ohio State University

12:15 - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 - 2:30 PM

AI and Data Science Foundations

Toward Understanding and Mitigating Error Amplification in Long-Horizon Tasks

Headshot of Andrej Risteski with short hair and facial hair, wearing a light shirt, photographed outdoors.

 

Dr. Andrej Risteski
Associate Professor, Machine Learning Department
Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Learned models are inevitably imperfect, even for the simplest problems such as supervised learning. When these models are used as building blocks to solve more complex problems, their imperfections tend to compound, particularly as the problem horizon gets longer. Examples of this abound: in language and reasoning, we often use imperfect next-token predictors and verifiers to generate long sequences or solve problems with many steps; in surrogate modeling for the sciences, we want to extrapolate predictions far into the future, even if we trained the model for short-term behavior. When and how can we mitigate the error propagation of the individual components?

This talk will cover two vignettes—one in the context of language, where we have access to a generator and a process verifier; and one in the context of trained partial differential equation (PDE) solvers. In the language setting, we introduce an inference-time intervention: a principled backtracking algorithm inspired by machinery from the MCMC literature, which provably mitigates the propagation of verifier noise. In the PDE setting, we introduce an architectural intervention: neural operators augmented with explicit temporal memory, implemented via a state space model (SSM) and inspired by the Mori–Zwanzig formalism from statistical physics. Together, these stories argue that making long-horizon systems reliable requires redesigning both how we roll out models and what inductive biases we build into them.

Based in part on https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.02313 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.03149 

AI and Health

Speaker Session 

Headshot of Dr. Faisal Mahmood, wearing glasses, a dark blazer, and a blue shirt, against a neutral background.

 

Dr. Faisal Mahmood
Associate Professor of Pathology
Harvard Medical School

2:30 - 2:45 PM

Break

2:45 - 4:15 PM

AI and Data Science Foundations

Speaker Session

Headshot of Han Liu wearing glasses and a collared shirt, photographed outdoors.

 

Dr. Han Liu
Orrington Lunt Professor of Computer Science; Professor of Statistics
Northwestern University

AI and Health

Speaker Session

Headshot of Dr. Zachi Attia wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie against a neutral background.

 

Dr. Itzhak (Zachi) Attia
Co-Director, Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Medicine; Assistant Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science

4:15 - 4:30 PM 

Break

4:30 - 6:30 PM

Poster Session and Networking Reception

Wednesday, March 4: Responsible and Secure AI | AI for Dynamical Systems and Controls

More info to come

8:30 - 9:00 AM - Welcome

Headshot of Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf, wearing glasses and a green top, smiling in front of bookshelves.

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf
Faculty Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute
Professor of Computer Science Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
The Ohio State University

 

 

 

Headshot of Ness B. Shroff, Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Ness Shroff
Director, AI(x) Hub; Ohio Eminent Scholar in Networking and Communication, Chaired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University 

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Keynote Address

The State of AI Through the Eyes of the AI Index

Headshot of Dr. Ray Perrault, wearing glasses, a dark blazer, and a blue shirt, against a gray background.

 

Ray Perrault
Senior Research Scientist, Artificial Intelligence Center
SRI International
Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
Stanford University

 

 

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Keynote Panel

Headshot of Dr. Ray Perrault, wearing glasses, a dark blazer, and a blue shirt, against a gray background.

 

Ray Perrault
Senior Research Scientist, Artificial Intelligence Center
SRI International
Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
Stanford University

 

Headshot of Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf, wearing glasses and a green top, smiling in front of bookshelves.

 

Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf
Faculty Director, Translational Data Analytics Institute
Professor of Computer Science Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Ness B. Shroff, Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University.

 

 

Dr. Ness Shroff
Director, AI(x) Hub; Ohio Eminent Scholar in Networking and Communication, Chaired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University 

 

10:30 - 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Responsible and Secure AI

The Future of Human Factors and AI Innovation

Headshot of Dr. Missy Cummings, with shoulder-length blonde hair, wearing a black top and necklace, against a softly blurred background.

 

Featured Speaker: Missy Cummings
Professor of Engineering and Computer Science; Director, Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center
George Mason University

 

 

Headshot of Dr. Joseph B. Lyons wearing glasses and a dress shirt, smiling against a studio background.

 

Panel:

Dr. Joseph B. Lyons
Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO)
U.S. Air Force 

 

 

Headshot of Arnab Nandi wearing glasses and a collared shirt with a jacket, smiling against an indoor background.

 

 

Dr. Arnab Nandi
Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Ayaz Hyder wearing glasses and a jacket, standing indoors.

 

Dr. Ayaz Hyder
Data and Integrations Lead
Smart Columbus

 

 

 

Headshot of Michael Rayo wearing a suit jacket and tie, smiling in front of a blurred outdoor/architectural background.

 

Dr. Michael Rayo - Session Moderator
Professor, Integrated Systems Engineering,The Ohio State University
Faculty Fellow, Translational Data Analytics Institute

AI for Dynamical Systems and Controls 

Speaker Session

Headshot of David Noever wearing a suit and tie, smiling against a blue studio background.

 

 

Dr. David Noever
Chief Scientist; Senior Technical Fellow
PeopleTec, Inc.

 

 

Headshot of David Hoelzle wearing a light shirt, against an indoor patterned background.

 

 

Dr. David Hoelzle
Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Venkata Surya Chaitanya Kolluru smiling against an indoor background.

 

 

Dr. Venkata Surya Chaitanya Kolluru
Instructor, Materials Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University

12:15 - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 - 2:30 PM

Responsible and Secure AI

Speaker Session

Headshot of JoAnn Stonier, wearing a black blazer and light blouse, against a softly blurred background.

 

JoAnn Stonier, JD
President, Global AI and Data Governance, Privacy and Ethics
The Cantellus Group

 

 

Headshot of Duane Detwiler wearing glasses and a blazer with a trimmed beard, against a studio background.

 

 

Duane Detwiler
Vice President of Research, Honda Research Institute (HRI) USA
Director, 99P Labs

 

 

Headshot of Srinivasan Parthasarathy wearing glasses and a blue shirt, photographed outdoors.

 

 

Dr. Srinivasan Parthasarathy
Professor, Computer Science and Engineering; Professor, Biomedical Informatics
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Aravind Chandrasekaran wearing glasses and a suit with a tie, smiling outdoors.

 

 

Dr. Aravind Chandrasekaran
Interim Dean; John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business
Max M. Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Dennis Hirsch wearing glasses and a suit with a patterned tie, photographed outdoors.

 

 

Prof. Dennis Hirsch — Session Moderator
Professor of Law; Director, Program on Data and Governance
The Ohio State University

 

AI for Dynamical Systems and Controls 

Speaker Session

Headshot of Xian Yu wearing glasses and a light top, photographed indoors with horizontal window blinds in the background.

 

Dr. Xian Yu
Assistant Professor, Integrated Systems Engineering
The Ohio State University

 

 

Headshot of Ayonga Hereid smiling, wearing a collared shirt and jacket, with a blurred campus background.

 

 

Dr. Ayonga Hereid
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The Ohio State University

 

 

 

Sidra Ghayour Bhatti
Applied Research Engineer
Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University

 

 

 

2:30 - 2:45 PM

Break

2:45 - 4:15 PM

Responsible and Secure AI

Speaker Session 

Headshot of Somesh Jha wearing glasses and a collared shirt, smiling against a neutral background.

 

Dr. Somesh Jha
Professor, Computer Sciences
University of Wisconsin–Madison

 

 

 

Headshot of Zhiqiang Lin wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie against a neutral background.

 

 

Dr. Zhiqiang Lin — Session Moderator
Distinguished Professor of Engineering; Director, Institute for Cybersecurity and Digital Trust
The Ohio State University

AI for Dynamical Systems and Controls 

Challenges and Opportunities for AI in Automotive and Mobility Industry

Speaker Session

 

Headshot of Rajeev Chhajer smiling slightly, wearing a gray sweater and watch, against a white background.

 

Rajeev Chhajer
Research Scientist; Senior Research Engineer
Honda Research Institute USA

 

 

 

Headshot of Ibrahim Haskara wearing glasses and a plaid shirt, smiling gently against a studio backdrop.

 

 

Ibrahim Haskara, PhD
Research Scientist – Data Science & AI
General Motors

 

 

Headshot of Yan Wang, MD PhD, wearing glasses and a light top, looking at the camera with a soft, horizontal blinds background.

 

 

Dr. Yan Wang, MD PhD
Investigator, Segal Lab; Clinician-Scientist
Neurological Institute, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

4:15 - 4:30 PM 

Break

4:30 - 6:30 PM

Poster Session and Networking Reception