The CIRSS speaker series continues in Spring 2025 with a new theme of “Generative AI and the Future of Research.” Our speakers will share their research on the opportunities and risks associated with the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI usage in scholarship.
We meet most Wednesdays, 9am-10am US Central Time, on Zoom. This event is open to the public, and everyone is welcome to attend. The series is hosted by the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS) at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and our Spring series is led by Yuanxi Fu and Timothy McPhillips . If you have any questions, please contact Janet Eke.
Participate: To join a live session, follow the “Join Here” link for the current week below to access the iSchool event page for the talk. There click the “PARTICIPATE online” button to join the live Zoom session. Recordings of past talks can be found via the “Recording” links below if available.
Follow: To receive weekly updates on upcoming talks, subscribe to our CIRSS Seminars mailing list at https://lists.ischool.illinois.edu/lists/info/cirss-seminars. Subscribe to add events to your calendar via Google Calendar or Outlook.
Spring 2025 Speakers
James Zou, Stanford University
Wednesday January 22, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: AI scientists for biomedical discoveries
Abstract: This talk will explore how generative AI agents can enable scientific discoveries. First, I’ll introduce the Virtual Lab—a collaborative team of AI scientist agents conducting in silico research meetings to tackle open-ended R&D projects. The Virtual Lab designed new nanobody binders to recent Covid variants that we experimentally validated. Then I will discuss how generative AI can expand researchers’ creativity by designing and experimentally validating new small-molecule drugs. I will conclude by discussing some interesting open problems and opportunities in designing and optimizing multi-agent interactions.
Bio: James Zou is an associate professor of Biomedical Data Science, CS and EE at Stanford University. He works on advancing the foundations of ML and in-depth scientific and clinical applications. Many of his innovations are widely used in tech and biotech industries. He has received a Sloan Fellowship, an NSF CAREER Award, two Chan-Zuckerberg Investigator Awards, a Top Ten Clinical Achievement Award, several best paper awards, and faculty awards from Google, Amazon, and Adobe. His research has also been profiled in popular press including the NY Times, WSJ, and WIRED.
Mario Krenn, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Wednesday January 29, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Details coming soon.
Francesca Toni, Imperial College London
Wednesday February 5, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Haohan Wang, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Wednesday March 5, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Marcel Binz, Helmholtz Institute for Human-Centered AI
Wednesday April 2, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Harlin Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Wednesday April 16, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Lucy Li, University of California Berkeley
Wednesday April 23, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Blessing Ogbuokiri, Brock University
Wednesday April 30, 2025, 9am-10am CT
Title: Coming soon
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Details coming soon.
Additional speaker scheduling is in progress. Check back for updates!