Stony Brook University professor Robert J. Harrison, founding endowed director of the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS), has been appointed interim executive director of New York State’s first-in-the-nation Empire AI Consortium.
Robert J. Harrison
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the consortium on October 11, saying it will commence research this fall, just six months after it was included in the FY25 enacted budget. The public and private research institutions that are members of the Consortium will leverage their initial research capacity to advance research aimed at addressing major societal challenges for the public good.
These efforts will focus on critical areas such as climate change and resilience, health disparities and interventions, accelerating drug discovery, democratizing education for all populations, and tackling global food insecurity and urban poverty. The high-performance computing offered by Empire AI will play a pivotal role in solving other complex issues, including sustainable energy solutions, cybersecurity threats, advanced health care diagnostics, equitable economic development, and optimizing infrastructure for smart cities.
“New York is writing the next chapter of human history with our historic Empire AI initiative — putting innovation, research and technology at the forefront of our investments,” Hochul said. “Empire AI is centered in the public interest, and this step brings us closer to using this technology to shape a better future for New Yorkers.”
IACS was established in 2012 with an endowment from Jim and Marilyn Simons. Through Harrison’s leadership, the institute achieved international recognition as a hub for AI and computer-enabled multidisciplinary research. His career at the frontiers of science and high-performance computing has spanned academia and multiple US Department of Energy national laboratories including Brookhaven National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, current home of the world’s fastest open-science computer.
“It is a privilege and very exciting to join Empire AI at this formative moment,” said Harrison. “The Governor’s historic investment in Empire AI will transform research and innovation across New York State. It gives our researchers access to high-performance computer technology at a scale typically reserved for only the largest tech companies or nations, positioning New York State to take the national lead on AI-enabled scientific discovery and engineering design.”
Harrison, a theoretical chemist and expert in high-performance computing, is a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His research interests focus on accurate calculations on large systems and heavy elements using advanced numerical and computational techniques.
The Simons Foundation made a philanthropic contribution of initial computing power and expert staffing, allowing Empire AI to jumpstart their research. Housed at the University at Buffalo, this initial phase of Empire AI represents some of the most robust computing power in the nation.
“The Simons Foundation is thrilled to be supporting the Governor’s effort to strengthen New York as a center for computational sciences,” said Simons Foundation President David Spergel. “This week, the Nobel Prizes in both Chemistry and Physics were awarded to AI researchers. Empire AI will enable New York State researchers and students to be the innovators that create the next great ideas in science and technology.”
The Empire AI consortium includes seven New York-based founding institutions: Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the State University of New York, the City University of New York and the Flatiron Institute. By increasing collaboration between New York State’s world-class research institutions, Empire AI will allow for efficiencies of scale not able to be achieved by any single university, empower and attract top notch faculty and expand educational opportunity, and give rise to a wave of responsible innovation that will significantly strengthen our state’s economy and our national security.
The initiative will be funded by over $400 million in public and private investment, including a $250 million State capital grant investment, and $25 million over ten years in SUNY funding. The project will also receive more than $125 million from the founding institutions and other private partners, including the Simons Foundation, whose Flatiron Institute works to advance research through computational methods, and Tom Secunda, co-founder of Bloomberg LP and the Secunda Family Foundation, which provides millions of dollars a year in grants to conservation, health care, scientific advancement and other causes.
A national search will be conducted for the Consortium’s inaugural permanent leader.
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