By Mirai Abe | November 4, 2024
Students working at the University at Albany ETEC Building.
Photo Credit: Patrick Dodson / University at Albany
On Oct. 10, the University at Albany announced its installation of a new $16.5M AI Supercomputer. This supercomputer is among the most advanced AI systems at American universities and joined the SUNY system through Governor Hochul’s Empire AI initiative, a project funding public and private institutions across New York to address complex challenges using AI technology.
The supercomputer is also expected to lead UAlbany’s AI Plus — an approach to include teaching and learning about AI in its academics and research — to help all students be ready to thrive in a world with rapid changes by technology.
Powered by 24 NVIDIA DGX systems, the AI Supercomputer can complete complex AI operations needing extensive parallel processing and handling of vast datasets to quickly generate answers.
“This new AI supercomputer is a major step forward for the University at Albany — for our faculty, for our staff, for our researchers and especially for our students,” UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez said.
The new AI supercomputer will be primarily used in atmospheric science, climate science, public health and nanotechnology. At the announcement event, Alan Chen, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Sweta Vangaveti, an RNA Institute research scientist, presented the possible usage of the supercomputer, such as the research of treatments for myotonic dystrophy, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 or filtering of toxic PFAS chemicals out of water.
UAlbany’s AI Plus initiative is working to make this resource accessible not only to graduate students and STEM majors, but to students of all majors.
Additionally, UAlbany has more exciting news for those interested in AI: a new AI-focused major is currently pending approval.
“If Albany worked on the [AI Plus] plan more, there's gonna be a lot of focus and attention on the university, so I think it’s great,” political science junior Itzel Sanchez said. The supercomputer will allow students to further their education pertaining to AI and allow UAlbany to become more hands on.
"By being a student at UAlbany,” UAlbany’s Chief Information Officer Brian Heaton said, “you have the luxury of being able to use a real AI system in your course rather than speak about it or learn about it in simply an abstract way."