Rutgers University-Newark recently hosted the New Horizons AI and Data Science Symposium, bringing together researchers, public officials and industry leaders to discuss how AI collaboration can fortify New Jersey’s economy and academic life.
The event, which is part of Rutgers’ ROADMAPS for Collective Academic Excellence initiative, featured remarks from U.S. Senator Andy Kim, who shared an ambitious vision for the state’s technological future.
Senator Kim described his hope for an “Einstein corridor” in New Jersey, a strategic, interconnected innovation ecosystem built upon colleges, universities, and existing business communities. He emphasized that this initiative would draw on the state’s legacy of innovation and creation.
“It will bring in venture capital in a way we haven’t seen before, create a true start-up and entrepreneurship environment, generate and advance manufacturing, modernize our ports and transit, and attract and retain talent from all over the world,” Kim said. He concluded that the foundational work begins with the AI and data science research being conducted at Rutgers.
The symposium, organized in part by the Institute for Data, Research and Innovation Science (IDRIS) Executive Director Fay Cobb Payton, showcased Rutgers’ commitment to breaking academic “silos” through its ROADMAPS initiative.
“It provides for collaborative and interdisciplinary research across the various schools at Rutgers-Newark,” Payton said, noting the direct economic impact of such innovation and job creation.
The event featured presentations from major tech companies, including:
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Google: Willis Zhang, lead for the newly launched Capricorn Project, detailed a partnership with Rutgers—the first publicly announced—to integrate AI-powered tools like Google BigQuery for personalized pediatric oncology research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute.
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Amazon Web Services (AWS): Beryl Rabindran outlined the Open Data Sponsorship Program, which gives graduate students, including those at Rutgers, access to over 800 public datasets, significantly lowering the time and cost of research.
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Pocstock AI: CEO Steven Jones discussed the Newark-based company’s collaboration with IDRIS, which offers internships to students learning to create content and data systems aimed at improving AI facial recognition systems, while opening doors for young talent.
Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson emphasized the need for a balanced approach to the technology. While highlighting the potential for AI to improve the lives of the underserved, she urged participants to be mindful of ethics and regulation.
“We can exchange innovative ideas that will transform the world… But also let us be mindful of the need for ethics, and other structures build around AI and the application of data science,” she cautioned, “We must be fully aware of the unintended consequences.”
