2025 AI Month at Penn

This free, half-day event for undergraduates is hosted by the National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence-driven RNA BioFoundry (AIRFoundry).

Led by experts from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, the event will highlight how AI can enhance RNA, with applications in medicine, agriculture and more.

Participants will also tour labs at Penn and attend a poster session of current graduate students to learn more about ongoing research and life as a graduate student. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Speakers include: Professors Yoseph Barash, Lijun Zhou, Camilo Mora.
Tours include: Singh Center for Nanotechnology, Penn Institute for RNA Innovation

AIRFoundryRNA Day @ Penn

Singh Center (Glandt Forum)
3205 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell will lead a discussion with members of the Penn AI Council to explore AI’s societal implications and Penn’s potential to influence a more sustainable future.

Panelists

Marylyn Ritchie, the Edward Rose, M.D. and Elizabeth Kirk Rose, M.D. Professor and Vice Dean of Artificial Intelligence and Computing at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM)

René Vidal, Rachleff University Professor and Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, with joint appointments in PSOM and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering), and Director of the Center for Innovation in Data Engineering and Science (IDEAS)

Lynn Wu, Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School

Bhuvnesh Jain, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences and Co-Director of the Penn Data Driven Discovery Initiative in the School of Arts & Sciences

Duncan Watts, Stevens University Professor and Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor in Penn Engineering, the Annenberg School for Communication and Wharton

Karen Detlefsen, Professor of Philosophy and Education, School of Arts & Sciences

Reception to follow

Penn AI CouncilAI Across Disciplines: A Penn Initiative

Amy Gutmann Hall
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Virginia SmithCarnegie Mellon University

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Frank E. CurtisProfessor, Director of Ph.D. Program Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Lehigh University

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 615)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Click here to RSVP to this event.

Rajeev Misra(ME’85, GEng’86, PAR’28); CEO, Co-Founder of One Investment Management; Former Co-CEO, SoftBank Vision Fund

Levine Hall (Wu and Chen Auditorium)
3330 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

This event is presented by the Wharton Accountable AI Lab and co-sponsored by the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative; Penn Engineering; the Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition; and the Perry World House.

The Penn AI Governance Workshop will feature panel discussions, lightning talks and networking opportunities, and will conclude with a reception.

The workshop brings together leading Penn researchers to explore key topics, including AI safety and evaluation, AI policy, AI ethics and responsibility, and teaching AI governance at Penn. Throughout the day, panel discussions will be interspersed with lightning talks from researchers.

Key panelists include:

• Kevin Werbach, Faculty Lead, the Wharton Accountable AI Lab
• George Pappas, Director of the Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence at Penn Engineering
• Michael Kearns, National Center Professor of Management & Technology, Computer and Information Science
• Michael Horowitz, Director, Perry World House
• Christopher Yoo, Founding Director, Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition at Penn Carey Law

Schedule:

9 a.m.  Check-in and breakfast
9:30 a.m.  Opening remarks
10 a.m.–noon  Panel discussions and lightning talks
Noon–1:30 p.m.  Lunch
1:30–4 p.m.  Panel discussions and lightning talks
4 p.m.  Closing reception

Perry World House
3803 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104

In today’s data-driven landscape, vast unstructured data sources — like documents and electronic health records (EHRs) — demand advanced AI tools to unlock their full potential. Generative AI, powered by large language models (LLMs), is becoming indispensable for processing and extracting insights from complex language-based data.

Participants will explore:

1. Identifying key problems that lend themselves to AI-driven solutions.
2. Collecting and preparing data, building models and running state-of-the-art algorithms.
3. Validating models and interpreting their results.

All attendees should bring a laptop or device. This event is open to all.

Linda ZhaoProfessor of Statistics and Data Science, University of Pennsylvania

Xinyu XiePh.D. Student, University of Pennsylvania

Jon M. Huntsman Hall (Room 340)
3730 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Lingjie LiuAravind K. Joshi Assistant Professor in Computer and Information Science

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Matt FredriksonCarnegie Mellon University

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Ryan TibishiraniProfessor in the Department of Statistics at UC Berkeley

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

A panel hosted by Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship (EENT) highlighting the importance of AI for the next generation of leaders and showcasing how Penn has been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of this evolving field.

Click here for more conference details.

RSVP

Elizabeth (Liz) GoldenCEO & Co-Founder @ Wavelet Medical

Brian HalakPractice Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Managing Partner @ Medical Excellence Capital

Mel TangFounding Operating Partner & CFO of Matter Venture Partners; Formerly CFO for Ring.com

Mark WeberDirector’s Fellow of MIT Media Lab & Investor; formerly Strategy and Ops Lead @ MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab

Amy Gutmann Hall (Stavis Family Auditorium)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Penn Engineering alumni working in AI will share industry insights in a panel discussion, followed by student networking sessions.

Schedule:

2–3 p.m.  Panel Discussion and Q&A
3:15–4 p.m.  Breakout Networking Sessions

• • Small-group discussions with alumni
  • Sign-up for breakout rooms will be available soon.

Sara DwyerENG19, Founder & CEO at Parambil

David SunGEE’14 GR’20, Engineering Manager at Apple building Apple Intelligence for Siri

Archana VemulapalliGEN01, CGS05, Corporate Vice President, Global Commercial Sales at AMD

Skirkanich Hall (Berger Auditorium)
210 S 33rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

This panel explores how artificial intelligence challenges and reshapes our understanding of humanity, consciousness and ethics.

TBD

Angelia Nedich

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Click here to RSVP for a fireside chat with ACM Turing Award winner Yann LeCun.

Yann LeCunChief AI Scientist, Meta; Jacob T. Schwartz Professor of Computer Science, Data Science, Neural Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University

Michael KearnsNational Center Professor of Management & Technology in Computer and Information Science; Founding Director of the Warren Center for Network and Data Sciences

Amy Gutmann Hall (Stavis Family Auditorium)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Chris Callison-BurchProfessor of Computer and Information Science, Program Director of Online Master of Science in Engineering in Artificial Intelligence

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Jason Altschuler

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Işil DilligUniversity of Texas at Austin

Amy Gutmann Hall (Room 414)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

The Franklin Institute Awards Laureate Symposium honoring William James Dally, recipient of the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science

This in-person event will be moderated by Joseph Devietti, with panelists Celine Lin and Benjamin Lee.

Awards Week Sponsors: JPMorganChase, Morgan Lewis, Marsha and Jeffrey Perelman

Click here to RSVP.

William James DallyChief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research, NVIDIA

Celine LinAssociate Professor of Computer Science and Co-Director of Center for Advancing Responsible Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Joe DeviettiAssociate Professor and Undergraduate Chair in Computer and Information Science, Penn Engineering

Benjamin LeeProfessor in Computer and Information Science and in Electrical and Systems Engineering, Associate Chair of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Penn Engineering

Amy Gutmann Hall (Stavis Family Auditorium)
3317 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104