Delaware State University partners in $21.5 million NSF AI Institute

As AI becomes increasingly connected to health care, research and everyday life, Delaware State University students and faculty will have an opportunity to help explore how this transformative technology can work alongside people to improve lives.

Delaware State University is partnering with the University of Delaware, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Florida and Princeton University in the new National Science Foundation AI Institute for Human-AI Cooperation (HAIC), a five-year, $21.5 million initiative bringing together researchers and clinicians in AI, health care, rehabilitation and other disciplines such as engineering, robotics and neuroscience.

For DSU, the partnership will strengthen ongoing work in AI and data science while creating new research and training opportunities for students. DSU’s participation will be led through the College of Agriculture, Science and Technology (CAST), with faculty contributing to the institute’s research and the University taking a key role in connecting other HBCUs with the initiative.

Dr. Hacene Boukari, associate dean for research in CAST and professor in the Physics and Engineering Program, will serve as a co-principal investigator for the HAIC Institute and DSU’s site lead.

“HAIC Institute provides DSU with a framework to develop and build its AI and data science initiatives while integrating the University’s work with major institutions conducting foundational AI research and exploring its applications in rehabilitation and health care in general,” Dr. Boukari said.

At DSU, that interdisciplinary approach is already reflected in the team being assembled through CAST, including Dr. Fatima Boukari, Dr. Abdallah Alsamani and Dr. Lianxin Xin. Members of the team have backgrounds in optical physics, applied mathematics and AI/data science. Dr. Boukari said participation could expand as researchers from other disciplines identify ways AI can support their work.

DSU’s participation will support research, facilities and workforce development, including a laboratory at DSU to support the institute’s work and faculty conducting AI-driven research.

“This partnership strengthens the research infrastructure we’re building across Delaware State University’s academic programs. Working alongside the University of Delaware, Penn, Princeton, and Florida on human-AI cooperation gives our faculty and students access to a caliber of collaboration that elevates everything we do in the classroom and the lab,” said Dr. Patrice Gilliam, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Delaware State University.

The partnership will also create opportunities to introduce students at DSU and other institutions to the research and emerging applications of AI.

“This partnership reflects exactly what Delaware State University stands for: rigorous research paired with real pathways for students. Our role in coordinating HAIC’s summer AI camps means students from HBCUs, community colleges, and across our region get direct exposure to the kind of human-AI collaboration that’s reshaping rehabilitation and health care. We are committed to students seeing themselves in it,” said Dr. Fareeda Griffith, Associate Provost at Delaware State University.

A major component of DSU’s activities will focus on preparing students to work across artificial intelligence and health care. Dr. Boukari is helping develop a collaborative summer internship program involving HAIC’s five partner institutions, with students expected to work on projects connecting AI with physical therapy and rehabilitation. The program will primarily serve undergraduate students, with opportunities potentially extending to graduate students.

Students will gain exposure to both sides of that work, learning from clinicians and rehabilitation specialists about real-world challenges while working with faculty conducting AI research. Workshops introducing students to AI are also expected to be part of the summer experience.

CAST will support the institute’s objectives while helping grow DSU’s data science programs and expand the pipeline of students entering AI.

“The College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology at Delaware State University will enthusiastically join and support the efforts of HAIC,” said Dr. Cherese Winstead, Dean of CAST. “I will work to facilitate the implementation of the objectives of the institute, including the growth of data science programs and the increase of a diversified workforce in AI.”

DSU will also have a significant role in expanding HBCU participation in the Institute. Dr. Boukari said 13 HBCUs have agreed to participate with HAIC as part of the broader effort, with DSU leading that HBCU engagement.

“Our experience with the AI Institute will be a model for other HBCUs,” Dr. Boukari said. “We will be an HBCU leader in this environment.”

Through that work, DSU will use its experience in HAIC to demonstrate how HBCUs can participate in a national AI research institute while connecting more HBCU students and researchers with opportunities in AI, health care research and workforce development.

HAIC’s research will explore how artificial intelligence can work alongside people, with health care and rehabilitation serving as key areas of application. Researchers will study how AI systems can use data such as movement patterns, physiological signals, clinical records and patient feedback to help health professionals make more personalized decisions.

For DSU, HAIC will provide students and faculty with access to a national research network while advancing the University’s own work in AI, data science and biomedical research.