University of South Dakota's 7th AI Symposium
A deep dive into the cutting-edge of Artificial Intelligence, hosted by the University of South Dakota.
The University of South Dakota recently hosted its 7th AI Symposium on June 26th and 27th in Sioux Falls. This significant event brought together experts and enthusiasts in artificial intelligence for discussions and presentations on the latest advancements and future trends in AI.
The symposium highlighted cutting-edge research and applications, reinforcing USD's commitment to innovation and leadership in technology. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with leading researchers, explore new concepts, and network with professionals in the field.
Organizing Committee
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KC Santosh
Chair & Professor, University of South Dakota (Founding Chair, AI Symposium & Co-Chair, SDBCC)
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William CW Chen
Assist. Professor, University of South Dakota (Chair, SDBCC)
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Jeffrey McGough
Head & Professor, South Dakota School of Mines (Co-Chair, SDBCC)
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Rodrigue Rizk
Assist. Professor/Grad Coord, University of South Dakota (Co-Chair, AI Symposium)
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Robert Burke
Conference Committee Chair, IEEE Region 4
Symposium Agenda
Day 1: June 26, 2025
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8:30 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration & Breakfast Networking
Check-in, coffee, and light breakfast.
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9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Opening Remarks
Speakers: President (USD), Vice-President (Academic Affairs), Vice-President (Office of Research), Dean (College of Arts & Sciences), and Chair (Department of Computer Science).
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9:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Keynote Address
Title: NIST GenAI: Text-to-Text Evaluation
Speaker: Dr. George Awad, Computer Scientist/Project Leader, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
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10:30 AM - 10:45 AM: Break / Networking
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10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: Blitz Talk
Title: AI: Now and Zen
Speaker: Dr. Pete Doucette, Director, EROS Center.
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11:30 AM - 12:15 PM: Workshop
Speakers: Joseph J Schueder (Senior Technical Fellow, Collins Aerospace), Joseph Engler (Chief AI Scientist, Collins Aerospace), Chris Reuter (Sr. Principal AI Engineer, Collins Aerospace).
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12:15 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch (Buffet + Networking Lounge)
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2:00 PM - 2:45 PM: Workshop
Title: AI in the Workplace: Productivity & Creativity - Navigating the New Era of Work with Artificial Intelligence
Speaker: Gopi Challagolla, Software Engineer, Microsoft.
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2:45 PM - 4:00 PM: Panel: AI and Workforce Development in South Dakota
Panelists: Kinchel C. Doerner (SD EPSCOR), Carson Merkwan (Direct Companies), Joseph Engler (Collins Aerospace), Eric Freer (Sterling), Dan Klosterman (Edge Team), Rajesh Kavasseri (SDSU), David Zeng (DSU).
Moderator: Jose Lira (Vermillion Unplugged).
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4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Evening Reception
Light hors d'oeuvres, social hour, and sponsor booths.
Day 2: June 27, 2025
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8:30 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration & Breakfast Networking
Check-in, coffee, and light breakfast.
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9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Opening Remarks
Welcome session with Senator Round's Office, USD and SDBCC leadership, and SDBCC program overview.
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9:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Keynote Address
Title: Computational Systems Modeling of Host Immune Response to Pathogen Infection and Vaccines
Speaker: Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger, Full Professor and Founding Chair of Dept of Biological Engineering at MIT.
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10:30 AM - 10:45 AM: Break / Networking
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10:45 AM - 11:15 AM: Blitz Talk I
Title: AI methods to uncover cell identity genes
Speaker: Dr. Kaifu Chen, Associate Professor at Harvard Med School/Boston Children's Hospital.
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11:15 AM - 11:45 AM: Blitz Talk II
Title: Accelerated and AI-Boosted Molecular Simulations and Drug Discovery
Speaker: Dr. Yinglong Miao, Associate Professor at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
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11:45 AM - 12:15 PM: Blitz Talk III
Talk title: TRECVID: Video Understanding Evaluation at NIST
Speaker: Dr. George Awad, Computer Scientist/Project Leader, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
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12:15 PM - 2:00 PM: Roundtable Lunch Discussion with Speakers
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2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Biomedical Computation and AI Panel Discussion (Biotech, Healthcare, Academia)
Panelists: Kara McCormick (SD BioTech), Sujit Sakpal (Avera), KC Santosh (USD/SDBCC), William Chen (USD/SDBCC), Jeffrey S McGough (SDSMT/SDBCC), Gregory Bertsch (University of South Dakota).
Moderator: Jose Lira (Vermillion Unplugged).