New One-U RAI Faculty Fellows Driving Responsible AI Across Disciplines

The University of Utah One-U Responsible Artificial Intelligence Initiative (One-U RAI) at the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute has named 12 new faculty fellows, nearly double the number of awardees announced last year. This expansion underscores the university’s commitment to rapidly advancing ethical, interdisciplinary AI research that addresses real-world challenges, from expediting emergency medical care to protecting the West’s water supply to systematically embedding ethics in AI education.

Penny Atkins, SCI Institute director of research and science, said the increase brings representation from eight new departments, expanding opportunities for cross-campus collaboration. “We continue to be impressed by both the quantity and quality of applicants and are so excited to see this program grow,” Atkins said. “We hope to expand engagement across campus to include additional departments and colleges in future years.”

The new faculty fellows span 5 colleges and 10 departments and their work is expected to drive progress in the initiative’s thematic areas: environment, health care and wellness, and teaching and learning. Awards may be used flexibly and amount to 25% of a fellow’s base salary, with a maximum award of $75,000 and a minimum award covering the average annual cost of a graduate student in the fellow’s department. Fellowships are awarded for three years and may be renewed following review. Read more about the program.

Meet the new faculty