NSF AI Planning Institute Holds Interdisciplinary Workshop
By Ben Panko
Quarks to Cosmos with AI, a virtual workshop hosted this month by Carnegie Mellon University's National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Planning Institute for Data-Driven Discovery in Physics, brought together hundreds of physicists and data scientists to combine their expertise on machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) and physics.
"AI plays an increasingly important role in all aspects of data analysis in particle and astrophysics, but there are few opportunities for particle physicists, astrophysicists and data scientists to get together and exchange thoughts on how to best incorporate the latest advances in AI in physics data analyses," said Mikael Kuusela, an assistant professor of statistics and data science in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and a co-organizer of the event. "This conference provided a unique opportunity for this interdisciplinary exchange both in the form of scientific talks and hands-on data challenges."
As hosts of the workshop, Carnegie Mellon was able to showcase its expertise in AI, machine learning, data science and physics while learning from their colleagues. Over the course of a week, more than 200 academics, industry professionals and students logged in to hear a variety of lectures from leading researchers in physics and machine learning. A virtual conference presented both benefits and challenges explained Professor of Physics Manfred Paulini, a co-organizer of the workshop.