The Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) held their annual faculty leadership retreat on Wednesday July 13th  in Savanna Hall, located in Grant Park on the grounds of Zoo Atlanta. The retreat brought together the current IDEaS Leadership Team and a cohort of newly hired research faculty in Data Science, High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence. Attendees discussed the impact that IDEaS affiliated faculty, staff and infrastructure had in assisting research across Georgia Tech’s Colleges and Schools in 2022-2023 and how to best further the mission to support data driven research at Georgia Tech in the upcoming academic year.

Numerous 2022-2023 research findings at Georgia Tech were supported by the NSF-MRI Hive HPC cluster and storage for data-driven discovery, an IDEaS Core Shared Facility.  One major project with great local impact was the use of the HIVE to create epidemiological modeling of the COVID -19 outbreak for the State of Georgia. Other finding of note supported by HIVE include advancements in astrophysics related to gravitational waves, intermediate-mass black holes, and the evolution of the universe. Chemistry research results supported include the development simulation created datasets to train Machine Learning models for crystals, hydrogenation catalysis, and negative thermal expansion. The HIVE infrastructure also led to new data-driven analysis & prediction of process-structure-property linkages for rapid new materials discovery.

IDEaS continued to lead in the Data Science world in 2022-2023 as a founding member of the Academic Data Science Alliance (ADSA) and b providing expert voices at U.S. Data Science Leadership Summits.  Additionally, IDEaS manages Georgia Tech data science relationships with DOE labs and serves as the lead university in the National Coordination Committee of the Big Data Hubs.

 Strategic planning for the 2023-2024 period focused on the rise of AI in government funding decisions and the historical support provided by IDEaS in this area. Specific brainstorming sessions included AI-driven Research in Science and Engineering, Cyberinfrastructure for AI, and Engaging with Industry in the AI Era. Discussions covered ways best pursue future funding and provide support in this area of growing importance for the holistic benefit of Georgia Tech’s different units.

With about 200 affiliate faculty across all six colleges and GTRI, IDEaS is one of the 10 Interdisciplinary Research Institutions under the Georgia Tech EVPR/VPIR. The mission of IDEaS is to support basic and applied research, facilities, training, thought leadership, and external engagement in data science foundations and data  driven discovery across disciplines. Learn more at our website.

- Christa M. Ernst