Disaster Tech Joins the University of Oklahoma, NVIDIA, Google and IBM in Founding First National Science Foundation AI Institute

Washington, D.C. — Disaster Tech, the leader in decision science technologies for disaster management, announced that it is joining forces with partners in academia and the private sector to found one of the inaugural U.S. National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence Institutes led by the University of Oklahoma. In collaboration with Google, IBM, Nvidia and several universities, including the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the State University of New York, Disaster Tech is leading alongside these partners to support the creation of seven AI Institutes.

Disaster Tech will work with its partners to develop trustworthy artificial intelligence solutions to improve the nation’s understanding of environmental phenomena, particularly emphasizing weather, climate, and oceanography. In addition, Disaster Tech’s research will focus on AI’s role in disaster management, community resiliency, and risk reduction, searching for new and innovative ways to save lives and property.

This news comes on the heels of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announcing an investment of more than $100 million to establish seven AI Institutes, and is the result of a national competition to support research and education hubs at US colleges and universities. The institutes will collaborate with industry and government to advance the frontiers of trustworthy AI as well as a range of science and engineering disciplines and societal sectors, including emergency management and disaster response.

Recognizing the critical role of AI, NSF is investing in collaborative research and education hubs, such as the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography, anchored at the University of Oklahoma, which will bring together academia, industry, and government to unearth profound discoveries and develop new capabilities advancing American competitiveness for decades to come,” said NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan.“Just as prior NSF investments enabled the breakthroughs that have given rise to today’s AI revolution, the awards being announced today will drive discovery and innovation that will sustain American leadership and competitiveness in AI for decades to come.

Increasing Access to AI and Promoting Diversity in STEM

Along with its work in trustworthy AI, the institute will also focus on expanding access to STEM courses by launching a pilot AI certificate for community colleges that will teach AI to a new audience. Disaster Tech and partners seek to broaden participation by creating a pipeline for underrepresented students in different parts of the country, starting with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and its partner community college Del Mar College, Corpus Christi. The certificate being tested at Del Mar College will soon be the only certificate for AI in geosciences in the nation.

In addition to contributing to the first-of-its-kind certificate, Disaster Tech will also create internship and career path opportunities to a new class of engineers, data managers, meteorologists, disaster scientists, and more.

Inclusive representation in fields such as disaster management is essential, driving diverse perspectives, insights, and impacts,” said Sean Griffin, CEO and co-founder of Disaster Tech. “Our mission statement begins with our pledge to help save lives and build resilience; with the emphasis on promoting diversity through these partnerships and initiatives, we will not only meet that promise but exceed it. We are very excited for the opportunities that the creation of The NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography brings, and we look forward to seeing its impact unfold across communities.”

Learn more about the institute at https://www.ai2es.org/.

About Disaster Tech- Disaster Tech, a veteran-owned public benefit company, offers data science and decision science technologies for situational awareness, operational coordination, and risk management before, during, and after disasters. Disaster Tech’s goal is to save lives, protect the environment, and build resilient communities by providing the most sophisticated, advanced analytics and distributed high-performance computing platform on the planet. Find more at https://www.disastertech.com/

About the National Science Foundation- The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2020 budget of $8.3 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.