UT Saw Huge Research Gains, Launched Education Initiatives During Its ‘Year of AI’

AUSTIN, Texas — After designating 2024 the “Year of AI,” The University of Texas at Austin had a record-breaking year in its efforts related to research, education and service involving artificial intelligence.

Among the highlights were:

• Nearly half a billion dollars in new research investments from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a series of artificial intelligence-related projects and initiatives, as well as new computing facilities at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), home to the world’s fastest academic supercomputer.
• A campuswide faculty recruitment effort to attract dozens of new faculty members with AI expertise spanning six distinct research themes.
• New forays in educational technologies that extend the use of AI to improve student learning and experiences.
• Events connecting the campus with hundreds of partners in industry, government and the community.

“For over five decades, UT Austin has been a global leader in artificial intelligence research,” said Dan Jaffe, UT’s vice president for research. “With its current and planned campuswide activities in the related fields of AI, machine learning and robotics, UT will remain a research leader for years to come. UT AI research will improve health outcomes, ensure the ethical use of the new technologies, support student success, and help our scholars explore some of humanity’s biggest questions.”

The Year in AI and Research

The University announced in July the beginning of TACC’s new Leadership Class Computing Facility. NSF will support construction of this revolutionary machine with a new $457 million award. The University also became one of the only universities in the U.S. to house two NSF AI Institutes — major, multi-institution collaborations — and announced its first NSF Expeditions in Computing project, another multi-institution effort in AI. New in 2024 were the NSF – Simons Institute for Cosmic Origins, or “CosmicAI,” which explores dark matter and the origins of the universe using AI, and Learning Development Operating Systems, a next-generation machine learning research initiative with applications in improving operating systems through AI. These collaborations will bring another $32 million in research funding to UT over five years, in addition to more than $20 million already supporting UT’s Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning.

Beyond the NSF investments, the University invested in AI research through the creation of a new Center for Generative AI, which houses what is believed to be the largest AI computing cluster at an academic institution. The campus also embarked on a faculty-recruitment initiative to leverage AI expertise and advance research strengths related to scientific discovery, materials research, environmental study, exploring the universe, cancer research and life and medical sciences more broadly. Meanwhile, UT researchers published widely about new discoveries at the intersection of AI and health, society, economic development, media and much more.

The Year in AI and Education

In education, the campus welcomed its inaugural class of hundreds of Master of Science in AI students, and it created an undergraduate robotics honors program, which will welcome its first class of freshmen in Fall 2025. UT also expanded courses available to students from a variety of majors, such as a three-hour “Essentials of AI” course, open to all UT students, and a freshman signature course on AI ethics. “AI catalyst grants” were given to support faculty members in STEM disciplines in incorporating AI technologies and lessons into their classrooms and labs, and the University acquired and created tools available to all faculty, staff and students to hone AI knowledge and accelerate skill-building. One example is SAGE, an AI-powered tutor to support and deepen students’ learning experiences; Microsoft Copilot also was made available to all UT community members. Partnerships with Microsoft and Dell Technologies allowed UT simultaneously to launch campuswide challenges where students, faculty and staff innovated with AI and shared what they learned with colleagues or fellow students. Finally, the University developed trainings and new campuswide policies for the responsible use of AI in education and the workplace.

The Year in AI and External Engagement

In the public sector, UT experts provided the U.S. Department of Defense with AI-related consultation and professional development; addressed the Texas Legislature’s AI & Emerging Technologies Committee and Innovation and Technology Caucus; and visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where President Jay Hartzell and a delegation addressed opportunities for academic-government collaborations in open AI. With the city of Austin, UT conducted collaborative research projects aimed at improving quality of life locally. Researchers in Good Systems — UT’s interdisciplinary research grand challenge to design AI technologies for the benefit of society — partnered with city officials in developing AI tools to detect smoke and wildfires, improve emergency response times, make transportation safer and more accessible, increase transparency and stakeholder engagement, and equip decision-makers with accurate data and predictive digital twin models. Good Systems-led initiatives also helped inform federal policy efforts around transparency and trust in AI, and they even helped advance ethics and safety in AI on the international stage.

Throughout the year, the University hosted AI-themed public events under the umbrella of its yearlong campaign to build bridges to industry, community organizations and across campus. More than 100 events or workshops were held, including in November, an open-to-all three-day conference called AI Live that attracted thousands of attendees. The University additionally offered AI- and robotics-themed panels, demonstrations and other offerings at South by Southwest and, with its LBJ School of Public Affairs, held a daylong policy symposium focused on AI and leadership with Alondra Nelson, one of the authors of the White House’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. Finally, an educational podcast about artificial intelligence in everyday experiences, “AI for the Rest of Us,” reached thousands of listeners and featured interviews with experts from across campus and outside guests, such as tech journalist Kara Swisher.

“The Year of AI positioned the University to expand its public service through greater collaboration,” said Melissa Taylor, senior assistant dean for strategic initiatives and partnerships in the College of Natural Sciences, who managed UT’s Year of AI. “UT Austin is continually leading the way in technology development and equipping the next generation of leaders to successfully and responsibly navigate an ever-evolving workplace and policy landscape.”