Welcome to the Institute for AI & Computational Research (IACR) at the University of Rhode Island — a collaboratively supported effort by central IT Services (ITS), the Vice President for Research’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and faculty contributions through research grants.
The Institute’s mission is to support, promote and grow high-level interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary computational research — artificial intelligence (AI), data science (Data), high-performance computing (HPC), and quantum computing (Quantum) — across URI campuses, in the region, and beyond. The computational work of over 150 faculty researchers is supported by this Institute. A quick snapshot of IACR resources is available here: IACR at-a-glance. For details on the broad topic of Generative AI, and the relevant university-wide efforts and guidelines, please visit the URI Provost’s AI page.
The IACR has an internal advisory group of key URI faculty members: Drs. Chris Kincaid (Oceanography); Ying Zhang (Life Sciences), Jason Dwyer (Associate Dean, College of A&S), Chris Hemme (INBRE Bioinformatics Core Coordinator, College of Pharmacy) and Drew Zhang (Alfred J. Verrecchia Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics) and is led by Gaurav Khanna (Asst. Vice President for Research Computing). The Institute partners closely with the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC). IACR was formerly known as the URI Center for Computational Research.
Drop by the IACR at URI Carothers Library 227 or email us at iacr-group@uri.edu with questions, comments, suggestions — anything!
News
New Spring Course: Applications of AI Methods Across STEM Disciplines - Graduate students (master’s and PhD) in any STEM field can learn applied AI for their research in Spring 2027 in PHY 591 AAI4STEM: Applications of AI Methods Across STEM Disciplines. To enroll, register for PHY 591-0001, listed in the catalog as “Special Problems.” The course meets Tue & Thu 11:00–12:15 in Swan Hall 211 and is capped […]
URI AI Retreat: AI and Advanced Computing in Research - Faculty and graduate researchers from every discipline are invited to the URI AI Retreat on November 6 at the Mosby Center to connect, exchange ideas, and explore AI and advanced computing in research.
URI Faculty and Students Offered Free Access to AWS Kiro - AWS is offering URI students free access to Kiro, an AI-powered development platform, with complimentary access also available for participating faculty.- URI Releases 2026 AI Task Force Report and Campus AI Resources - URI’s new 2026 AI Task Force report highlights progress and recommendations for thoughtful, responsible AI across teaching, research, and University operations, with links to campus guidance, workshops, and research support.
NSF Opens New AI Infrastructure and AI-Ready Dataset Opportunities - Two new NSF solicitations may interest URI teams working with AI, scientific data, research computing, and cyberinfrastructure. Full proposals are due November 4, 2026.