Climate Uncertainty, Decision Making, and AI for Earth System Predictability Dr. Nathan Urban, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Bio: Nathan Urban is the group leader of the Optimal Experimental Design & Uncertainty Quantification group in the Applied Mathematics Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Computing & Data Sciences directorate (CDS). He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics from Penn State, and has previously held research positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Princeton, and Penn State. His research interests include Bayesian inference and spatiotemporal statistics, probabilistic prediction and forecasting, multi-model / model-form / model structural uncertainty quantification, reduced order modeling, scientific machine learning and hybrid physical-data driven modeling, in-situ/streaming data analysis at scale, information fusion, decision making under uncertainty and optimal experimental design, and integrated multiscale computational frameworks for decision support.

Location: IACS Seminar Room

Lunch will be provided
Learn how these two AI tools will help you this year. AI has been all over, but figuring out the tools that we may use is critical. Background remover of images and a replacement for Google Search may disrupt the industry this year. Learn and refresh your knowledge about these tools.
Join Stony Brook University's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) for a bootcamp on how to use AI to enhance your teaching and courses. This event will demonstrate how ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and other generative AI platforms can support you in crafting learning objectives, writing exam questions, composing rubrics, and designing course content such as lesson plans, in-class activities, instructional videos, and more.

Register here.

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.

Abstract: AI has achieved remarkable advancements in image recognition and natural language processing. However, its applications in Earth and environmental sciences are still emerging. Unprecedented data from satellites, sensors, and in-situ measurements oIers new opportunities to improve physics-based models and forecasts of environmental systems with AI and to gain deeper insights into these phenomena. Extreme systems, such as weather and climate events, pose distinct challenges for AI, such as limited sampling of rare events, non-trivial data augmentation, errors-in-variables, and complexities of transfer learning across diverse tasks. In this talk, we will explore some of these challenges and showcase AI architectures designed to address them. We will use specific examples of forecasting dust storms, precipitation extremes, flash floods, and drought events in the Middle East. Finally, we will discuss a different AI approach for studying sinkhole formation in the Dead Sea.

Speaker: Prof. Yinon Rudich, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute, Israel


Join Zoom Meeting
ID: 98731258879
Passcode: cJjGQJqP
Virtual Job Fair for New Stony Brook Graduates & Experienced Alumni Using a platform called Career Fair Plus, participants will be able to schedule 10-minute video meetings with participating employers of interest to them. Recent graduates and alumni can register and learn more about how the fair will be run by registering on Handshake.
AI is everywhere and so are the privacy concerns that come with it. At its core, the most common forms of AI we use today are online digital services and thus inherit the usual privacy risks. We'll take a look at indirect prompt injection- a technique that can trick AI tools into revealing or extracting private information as well as techniques being used in academic contexts to manipulate systems and even mislead researchers.

Register here for the online session.

AI on Campus: Your Thoughts, Your Future

Join the Conversation: Share Your Thoughts about Learning, Academics, and AI

The world of college is changing fast, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the center of it. We are part of the Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum with AAC&U, and we need to hear from the people AI affects most: you!

This is an open discussion for all students to share their honest experiences, their top concerns, and their best ideas about AI in our academic environment. We'll be diving into these key questions:

  • How can AI actually make learning better or easier? What opportunities do you see for using AI tools to enhance your assignments, research, or skills?

  • What are your biggest worries about AI? Is it about cheating, being graded fairly, or preparing for the job market? How is AI impacting your workload or stress levels?

  • What specific tools, workshops, or policies would help you use AI responsibly and successfully? (Think training, software, or clear rules.)

Dates/Times:

  • Wednesday, 2/4 at 2pm

  • Thursday, 2/5 at 12pm

Please register in advance for the Zoom link.

Can't Make It? Share Your Feedback!

Don't worry if you can't attend! You can still share your thoughts via video in our AI Zoom Room or via email: rose.tirotta-esposito@stonybrook.edu.

Videos will not be shared publicly and comments will only be shared in aggregate.

Your voice matters. Come tell us how AI is affecting your studies, your stress, and your success!

  • Dr. Rose Tirotta-Esposito (Assistant Provost; Director of CELT)

  • Dr. Elizabeth Hewitt (Associate Professor in the Department of Technology and Society (DTS) in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences)

  • Chris Kretz (Associate Librarian and Head of Academic Engagement at SBU Libraries)

  • Prof. Rajiv Lajmi (Assistant Professor in the School of Health Professions and Chair of Applied Health Informatics)

  • Dr. Matthew Salzano (Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication in the School of Communication and Journalism)

IACS and the Dept of Ecology and Evolution invite you to a PRODiG+ Fellowship Seminar.

Computational solutions for reconstructing the drivers of macroevolutionary change

Summary: Why do living things evolve along the precise trajectories they do? In this talk, I describe how we can use emerging computational approaches to reconstruct major evolutionary transitions and the ecological, developmental, and functional factors that helped to shape them.

Speaker: Dr. Caleb M. Gordon, a postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History, integrates paleontology, machine learning, and 3D modeling to study how ancient mammals and reptiles evolved new behaviors.

Location: IACS Seminar Room, and via Zoom.

Zoom: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/85466330601?pwd=umexDI9TQahaA9SNbL3BdJrllSZLD0.1
Meeting ID: 854 6633 0601
Passcode: 7cVSZd