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University at Buffalo names Atri Rudra inaugural chair of AI department
As chair, Rudra will lead curriculum development, interdisciplinary research, and community engagement to advance ethical, socially impactful AI education.
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Bhavana P - Wed, 09, Apr 2025
- 14:54 EDT
- 121
Atri Rudra / University at Buffalo
The University at Buffalo (UB) has appointed Atri Rudra as the inaugural chair of its newly established Department of AI and Society, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at leveraging artificial intelligence for the public good.
Rudra, a professor in UB’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, currently serves as the Katherine Johnson Chair in Artificial Intelligence.
Also read: Venu Govindaraju awarded Person of the Year for AI breakthroughs
His appointment came after the university received a $5 million funding allocation from New York State to launch the new department, as revealed by Governor Kathy Hochul.
Rudra will lead the department’s efforts to integrate AI into various academic disciplines, including public policy, health, communication, the arts, and more. A key focus will be creating a core curriculum that fosters ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.
A leading voice in responsible computing, Rudra conducts research in the intersection of computing and society, structured linear algebra, and database algorithms. He mentors UB’s Society and Computing Club and DivTech, and co-edited Mozilla’s Teaching Responsible Computing playbook.
His work in ethical AI and computing has earned numerous accolades, including the NSF CAREER Award and SUNY Chancellor’s Award. Rudra earned his PhD from the University of Washington, BTech in computer science from IIT Kharagpur. He joined UB in 2007 after working at IBM India Research Lab.
The Department of AI and Society, which will officially launch this fall, represents a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences. It is designed to examine the societal impacts of AI through research, teaching, and community outreach, and will offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Faculty Senate is scheduled to vote on final approval of the department on April 15.
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