K-State faculty secure $1 million for AI research

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - Kansas State University faculty members secured over $1 million to expand artificial intelligence-based research.

On Wednesday, K-State announced Lloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair and professor of computer science Pascal Hitzler and assistant professor of computer science Hande McGinty secured two sub-awards for National Science Foundation grant-funded projects.

The awards will go to projects in 'Safe Agricultural Projects and Water Graph' and' 'An Education Gateway for the Proto-OKN'. The awards will bring a combined $1,030,200 over the next three years, according to the university.

"Today's most important questions regarding agriculture and the environment can only be addressed by integrating massive amounts of data from very different data sources," Hitzler said. "Knowledge graphs are the most recent technology coming out of artificial intelligence that deal efficiently with this data problem. These awards will help us investigate ways to further improve these methods."

The first project led by the University of Maine received $1.5m from the National Science Foundation for research into poly-fluoroalkyl substances or "forever chemicals". K-State Professor of Agronomy Ganga Hettiarachchi will work as a collaborator on the project, according to the university.

The second project will be led by a K-State graduate and faculty member of Wright State University, Cogan Shimizu. The project will provide educational tools for a Prototype Open Knowledge Network, according to the university.

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