The Vedanta Forum is devoted to one of humanity's oldest and most profound pursuits -- thinking. Thinking about who we truly are: the one that remains constant through childhood and old age, through waking, dream, and deep sleep. Thinking about the source and cause of creation, and its relationship to what inheres in us.

Across history, such thinking, both meditative and scientific, has been aimed at these questions. The ancient Upanishads proclaimed, Tat Tvam Asi -- Thou Art That -- revealing the non-dual identity of the individual and the ultimate reality. Centuries later, modern scientists such as Schrödinger and Bohr echoed similar intuitions about the unity of existence.

Over time, many philosophical approaches, traditions, and interpretive schools have arisen from such inquiry, each offering unique perspectives. The Forum will:

  • Focus on universal approaches and traditions and examine their teachings,

  • Foster comparative studies, and

  • Explore the practical benefits to society from such thinking,

through scholarly studies, dialogue, and debate also promoting accessibility to all qualified seekers. Additionally, the Forum will explore how these reflections can enrich life, education, and even technology.

Location: NCS 120 (New Computer Science), Engineering Dr, Stony Brook, NY 11794.

The program is available at: https://www.vedantaforum.org/events/program

You are cordially invited to attend the biweekly Brookhaven AI Mixer (BAM). BAM includes three short talks on AI research happening at BNL, followed by an open mixer over coffee and snacks for everyone to network and discuss all things AI. The first half hour will consist of presentations that will be available via ZOOM, and the second half hour will be for in person only networking.

Join us every other Tuesday at noon in CDSD's Training Room (building 725, 2nd floor) to learn about interesting AI methods and applications, engage with potential collaborators, prepare for pending FASST funding calls, and build a community of AI for Science at BNL.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025, 12:00 pm -- CDS, Bldg. 725, Training Room

Speakers

Maria Zawadowicz, EBNN--ML for Atmospheric Aerosol Research

Mohammad Atif, CDS--An Extensible Digital Twin Framework

Guang Zhao, CDS--Pareto Prompt Optimization

Join ZoomGov Meeting: https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/1615289117?pwd=Hqkbj9itxWrFnkhZ8rQXHPInO2gxdF.1

Meeting ID: 161 528 9117
Passcode: 991382

The talk will be exclusively on zoom https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/7851507944 Speaker: Sooyeon Lee, Rochester Institute of Technology Title: Design and Evaluation of Accessible AI Technologies for Users with Disabilities Abstract: Over one billion people in the world live with some type of disability. Many of them experience barriers in accessing information or using technologies, which can limit social interactions in both physical and digital spaces. In my research, I focus on investigating and designing nonvisual interaction for the community of blind users and non-audio and non-speech interaction for the community of deaf and hard of hearing users. In this talk, I will first present my research investigating nonvisual interaction prototypes for supporting shopping activities for blind users, with an exploration of one-way instructional and two-way conversational interactions and with a variety of form factors and communication modalities through the use of human-computer interaction research methodologies. I will also discuss incorporation of AI technology and its impact on the nonvisual guidance experiences, and further meanings of independence and new ways for designing independence for people with visual impairments. This collaborative work included AI researchers, the community of the blind, and an industry research partner. Additionally, I will discuss my findings and further exciting research opportunities. Secondly, I will overview research projects investigating AI-based applications and tools that support deaf and hard of hearing people's equitable information access and societal participation. This work addresses engagement in online social media spaces, workplace communication, participation in gig work, and interaction with mainstream technology through American Sign Language (ASL) interaction. I will focus on a recent project on users' experiences with AI deep-fake face-transformation technologies to support anonymous participation of deaf and hard of hearing signers in online social media. Lastly, I will discuss my future research directions informed and inspired by this prior and current research. Bio: Sooyeon Lee is a postdoctoral research associate in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D., advised by Dr. John M. Carroll, in Information Sciences and Technology from the College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University, and she also conducted design research at Google and Uber. Her research is in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Human-AI Interaction with focus on accessibility. She designs, builds, and evaluates new systems and applications that address accessibility barriers. Her work investigates the diversity of users, explores and leverages emerging technologies, and adopts human-centered design and inclusive design approaches in an interdisciplinary research framework. She has multiple publications in top-tier human-computer interaction and computing accessibility journals and conferences, including ACM CHI, CSCW, ASSETS, and TACCESS, and she has received a Best Paper Award Nomination at ASSETS 2021. She has served on Associate Chair for the ACM CHI conference and will serve on Program Committee for ASSETS 2022.

You are cordially invited to attend the biweekly Brookhaven AI Mixer (BAM). BAM includes one short talk on AI research happening at BNL, followed by an open mixer over coffee and snacks for everyone to network and discuss all things AI. The first half hour will consist of presentations that will be available via ZOOM, and the second half hour will be for in person only networking.

Join us every other Tuesday at noon in CDSD's Training Room (building 725, 2nd floor) to learn about interesting AI methods and applications, engage with potential collaborators, prepare for pending FASST funding calls, and build a community of AI for Science at BNL.

Embodied Intelligence at Scientific User Facilities

Abstract: This presentation explores the active work integrating artificial intelligence and robotics at the National Synchrotron Light Source II, and a perspective for the future. Through various case studies, we highlight the optimization of operations, improved experimental outcomes, and the orchestration of distributed multimodal experiments. This ongoing development includes collaborators from across the light and neutron sources in the DOE complex. We will elaborate on the open-source Bluesky project, and its capabilities to support adaptive and autonomous experiments. Additionally, we will discuss how Bluesky can be integrated with open-source robotic control software to unlock new flexible automation for autonomous scientific research, which scales to new experiments and continues to leverage human ingenuity.

Biography: Dr. Phillip M. Maffettone is an Associate Computational Scientist in the Data Science and Systems Integration Division at NSLS-II. His research focuses on accelerating scientific discovery at user facilities through the integration of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced experiment orchestration systems. He leads the N3XTware project, constructing the software architecture for the next 12 beamlines to be built at NSLS-II. Prior to this he built the brain on the world's first mobile robotic scientist at the University of Liverpool, and later spearheaded the machine learning platform for a biotechnology start-up, BigHat Biosciences. He holds a DPhil in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University at Buffalo.

Location: CDS, Bldg. 725, Training Room

Link: https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/16049713 31?pwd=nc5CV3cOFrdYxordFieP W07tIDmwYb.1

Meeting ID: 160 497 1331
Passcode: 289875

The University's Main Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 11 am at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Gates open at 10 am.

All guests need a valid ticket to enter LaValle Stadium - no exceptions. Children age 1 and older require a ticket. Seating is first-come, first-served.

Register here.

Discover how U.S. Census Bureau Tools can help you find free data for your research projects, community, and more. See how to access the latest American Community Survey and 2020 Census data for various geographies including New York City and Long Island at data.census.gov. Learn about Community Resilience Estimates and how to navigate My Community Explorer; an interactive map-based tool which highlights demographic and socioeconomic data that measure inequality. This session will involve live demonstrations and hands-on exercises for participants. Registrants will receive the Zoom link one day prior to the event.

Please Register for SBU Libraries' AI Club: Exploring Census Data here.

Learn how to unlock the power of Image and visuals that will enhance your work by asking the experts questions in-person

No registration required - just stop by!

Location: Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library Galleria (across from the Central Reading room)