Penn State AI Hub seeking nominations for annual Artificial Intelligence Awards

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State AI Hub, one of the five research hubs housed under the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), is seeking nominations for the annual Artificial Intelligence (AI) Awards — a University-wide competition that recognizes research excellence across different categories in AI including projects that have made impacts on society, best undergraduate and graduate theses, and best doctoral dissertations. The competition is coordinated by four Penn State AI centers, all part of the AI Hub: Center for Applications of AI and Machine Learning to Industry (AIMI) , Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Engineered Systems (CAFE) , Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Scientific Applications (CENSAI) , and Center for Socially Responsible AI (CSRAI). Nominations can be made by any Penn State faculty or staff member, student or alumni for four different AI awards. Self-nominations are also accepted. Research, contributions or activities of the nominated person must have been made after May 31, 2024, and before April 17, 2026, to be considered eligible. A panel of Penn State AI faculty will make the final selections for awards. Deadline to submit awards is Friday, April 17, by 5 p.m. ET. Nominations should be submitted via InfoReady. Interested applicants without an active Penn State Access account will need to register an account with InfoReady to complete nominations. The awards are: AI Societal Impact Award This award recognizes AI innovation with the greatest potential for impact on society. This could be a peer-reviewed paper that has resulted in the development of software or hardware that benefits a broader community; a prototype that has influenced practice or enhanced education; a commercial start-up idea; or a project that makes a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge and practices related to socially responsible development and deployment of AI. Contributions that have received external recognition are eligible for nominations. Submit award nomination via InfoReady. Best Undergraduate (Honors) Thesis or Senior Project Related to AI within Penn State This award acknowledges an undergraduate student’s research efforts in a project topic related to AI at Penn State. Last year’s recipient earned the recognition for research focused on developing a mental health tool to help encourage less engagement with negative online content. Submit award nomination via InfoReady. Best Master’s Thesis in an AI-Related Discipline within Penn State This award honors a master’s student for an innovative thesis on an AI-related topic. Last year’s winner conducted research on debunking misinformation and misconceptions with AI tools and systems. Submit award nomination via InfoReady. Best Doctoral Dissertation in an AI-Related Discipline within Penn State This award recognizes a doctoral student or students for their work on an AI-related topic. The recipients last year earned the honor for their dissertations highlighting how to improve systems for user benefit. Submit award nomination via InfoReady. To find complete details on nomination requirements, please visit the Penn State AI Hub website .