The New Jersey Institute of Technology announced this week that it will establish the Grace Hopper AI Research Institute, a component of a more than $10 million initiative that the university is launching that aims to significantly advance its strength in the field of artificial intelligence and position NJIT to become a leader in both AI research and application in higher education.
The effort is intended to augment already-significant existing academic and research activity in AI and related programs. In 2023 alone, NJIT research related to AI totaled nearly $60 million. This new effort will leverage the university’s extensive expertise in machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing and robotics, with the goal of becoming a major player in AI innovation.
The Grace Hopper AI Research Institute, named for an American computer scientist, mathematician and Navy rear admiral, Grace Brewster Hopper, who was a pioneer of computer programming, will be launched thanks to support from an anonymous donor and matching funds that total $6 million.
The new institute will include existing initiatives, such as the Center for AI Research and the Institute for Data Science — where faculty members and researchers, along with students, study topics such as data analysis and scientific computing — and also will apply AI across diverse fields, such as architecture, biology, engineering and management, ensuring that AI research benefits multiple sectors. Through collaboration with the New Jersey Innovation Institute, an NJIT corporation, the Grace Hopper AI Research Institute also will form partnerships with health care, defense, finance and manufacturing industries, creating AI solutions for real-world challenges.
NJIT President Teik Lim said the initiative will have huge impact.
“Generative AI is creating new opportunities for innovation and knowledge creation, while also challenging the traditional models of R&D and operations,” he said. “At the same time, the development of intellectual property and the translation and commercialization of research requires dedicated investment.
“AI is arguably going to have the greatest effect on the creation and delivery of knowledge goods and services since the advent of the Internet and the smartphone. NJIT will focus its research enterprise on collaborative, large-scale, applied projects in areas of high impact.”
An additional $4 million-plus investment by NJIT will support initiatives that include an expansion of the top-tier AI talent at NJIT and the creation of a Center for Educational Innovation Excellence, where experts will study AI’s role in enhancing curricula and effective teaching/learning.
NJIT is already well underway in equipping faculty to use generative learning, as part of an integrated partnership between the administration, instructional staff and the Office of Information Services & Technology.
The expansion of NJIT’s AI prowess in research and application aligns perfectly with the university’s 2030 Strategic Plan, which calls for NJIT to become a nexus of innovation that is a physical and intellectual focal point for ideas, actions and people and brings together researchers, learners, entrepreneurs and partners from government, industry and the community to pursue innovation.
The AI push will dramatically enhance learner advancement, faculty success, digital transformation and expansion of industry partnerships, all of which are areas of focus within that strategic plan.
