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 and in the region. 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.
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) 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 High-Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC). IACR was formerly known as the URI Center for Computational Research.
Email us at iacr-group@uri.edu with questions, comments, suggestions — anything!
News
- Dr. Hendawi’s research spotlighted in The Guardian! - Congratulations to our very own Dr. Hendawi!https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/09/open-ai-chat-gpt5-energy-use If you’re curious about the carbon cost of AI or passionate about sustainable tech, give the published paper a read and share your thoughts!
New NSF AI Initiative: Programmable Cloud Laboratories - New funding opportunity from NSF https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/pcl-test-bed-test-bed-toward-network-programmable-cloud-laboratories/nsf25-541/solicitation- New federal investment in AI details - https://www.nsf.gov/news/statement-nsf-chief-staff-brian-stone-performing-duties-nsf?sf227755246=1
IACR supports critical state services operation - https://www.uri.edu/news/2025/07/rhode-island-legislators-approve-crucial-appropriation-for-unique-weather-related-tools-at-uri/- Welcome to the IACR! - The Center for Computational Research (CCR) is now the Institute for AI & Computational Research (IACR) – uniting CCR, ITS Research Computing, and the URI AI Lab under one banner. The Institute designation better recognizes the Center’s university-wide impact and close external partnerships with regional research universities.