2025 UVA Engineering Faculty Research Retreat

Time:  9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location:  North Fork Town Center Four 994 Research Park Boulevard Charlottesville, VA 22911

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The SEAS-wide Faculty Research Retreat will be held on Thursday, August 7, 2025, from 9am to 4pm at North Fork, with optional tours of the Center for Applied Biomechanics to follow. We have a full one-day event with a lot of time designated for faculty engagement and discussion. The goals are to increase awareness of SEAS research among the faculty, foster collaboration, and provide educational information that supports research program development. Lunch will be provided. In an effort to be sustainable and cost-conscious, there will not be single-use water bottles at the event. Please bring a reusable water bottle and use the refill stations. There will be extra reusable bottles available if you do not have one. The agenda is below. 

GPS address for the Research Retreat – 994 Research Park Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. We are in Town Center 4 – parking is available in the lots adjacent to the building. There will be a sign in the lobby entrance. The plenary sessions are in Room A on the first floor.  The breakout sessions are in Rooms A and B on the first floor and Rooms C and D on the fourth floor. The elevator to the fourth floor is in the lobby. See agenda for room locations.

Agenda

9:00-9:05  Welcome and Introduction - Room A (Brian Smith, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs and Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering)

9:05-10:00  Plenary Session 1: the Federal Landscape - Room A (Julia Smith, Executive Director for Federal Relations) 

10:00-10:15   Break and Unstructured Discussion

10:15-11:15   Breakout Session 1

  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - Room A (Yen-Ling Kuo, Assistant Professor, Computer Science; Yangfeng Ji, Associate Professor, Computer Science; Tom Fletcher, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science)
    • This session will foster discussions among faculty members to strengthen the AI/ML community within UVA SEAS by addressing key areas for collaboration and resource sharing. We will discuss ideas to facilitate cross-talk between research ranging from theoretical to applications, identify hot topics for future seminars and discussions, and explore the potential for setting an information hub (like Wikis) for AI/ML collaborations and activities.
  • Translation/commercialization - Room B (David Chen, Assistant Dean for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships and Professor of Practice, Biomedical Engineering)
  • An Integrated Computational and Experimental Study of Gas-Surface-Materials in Nonequilibrium Flows - Room C (Xinfeng Gao, Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering)
    • This session will include a discussion of the unique research strengths in our Research Interest Group, including gas dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, materials, chemistry, and chemical engineering. Our goal is to bring together our expertise to develop a strategic pathway of integrating computational and experimental techniques for advancing research in studying multiscale and multiphysics systems.
  • Human-Centered Technology - Room D (Afsaneh Doryab, Assistant Professor, Systems & Information Engineering and Computer Science)
    • This session will bring together faculty members interested in Human-Centered Engineering and AI research. Participants will share their current research, pressing challenges in this domain, and explore ideas for new or improved courses. Through group discussions, we will identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, whether it involves developing new proposals, co-teaching courses, or simply making connections with others in this field.

11:15-11:30   Break and Unstructured Discussion

11:30-12:15   Plenary Session 2: Graduate Student Mentoring - Room A (Matt Panzer, Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Affairs and Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering)

12:15-1:15      Lunch, Posters, Tours of the Commonwealth BioAccelerator, Faculty Headshots

1:15-2:15        Breakout Session 2

  • Large Language Models (LLMs): Generative Language Technology and Its Societal Impacts - Room A (Yangfeng Ji, Associate Professor, Computer Science)
    • This session will focus on understanding the language technology needs of faculty and researchers to facilitate their work. The session will begin with a 5-minute demonstration of a startup project, showcasing how language technology can extract critical research information from scientific papers and address common challenges like information overload. Next, a roundtable discussion will be guided by open-ended questions designed to uncover specific pain points in current research workflows, explore desired functionalities for language technology tools, consider the types of data colleagues primarily work with, and address any ethical concerns. A 5-minute wrap-up will outline next steps for how this feedback will inform the design of the upcoming 2nd UVA LLM workshop in October.
  • Accelerating Multiscale Materials Innovation through Advanced Electron Microscopy, AI-Driven Analysis, and Core Facility Engagement - Room B (Toni Tang, Assistant Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering; Art Lichtenberger, Research Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Director of IFAB/NMCF; Helge Heinrich, Research Scientist, Materials Science & Engineering)
    • This research interest group (RIG) aims to build an interdisciplinary community that leverages cutting-edge electron microscopy and artificial intelligence techniques to accelerate multiscale innovation in both engineered and biological materials. The session will cover topics and planned activities for the RIG. Topics include AI for imaging, volume and cryo EM, spectrometry for EM, and in-situ TEM. Activities include monthly talks, workshops/demos at core facilities, and brainstorming meetings. Attending faculty will briefly introduce their own research interests and participate in a brainstorming session.
  • Foundations of Computer Science - Room C (Matheus Venturyne Xavier Ferreira, Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Wei-Kai Lin, Assistant Professor, Computer Science)
    • This session is designed for any faculty member curious about the foundational and mathematical underpinnings of modern engineering challenges. We will explore questions at the intersection of quantitative decision-making, theoretical computer science, cryptography, and complexity. The session will feature a brief, accessible introduction to some of the core concepts driving our discussions, followed by a collaborative "problem-storming'' activity where we will identify grand challenges in engineering that can be tackled with a theoretical lens. Our goal is to demystify theoretical research and foster new, interdisciplinary collaborations. Come and discover how theoretical perspectives can enrich your own research. RIG website: https://sites.google.com/view/tcs-uva/home.
  • National Security Research - Room D (Phil Potter, Executive Director, National Security Data and Policy Institute, and Professor, Public Policy)
    • This session will introduce Engineering faculty to conducting research with agencies involved in national security. It will highlight the differences between national security research sponsors and sponsors such as the NSF and NIH, and will provide some best practices in seeking sponsored research in national security. It will also introduce UVA’s National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI), which coalesces the University's expertise in data science, artificial intelligence, research computing and public policy to address the country’s most pressing national security issues. There are multiple opportunities for Engineering faculty to partner with NSDPI in areas such as cybersecurity, AI, systems modeling, hypersonics, among others.

2:15-2:45   Break and Unstructured Discussion

2:45-3:45 Breakout Session 3

  • Innovative Uses of AI in the Engineering Classroom: Scholarship of Engineering Education - Room A (Reid Bailey, Professor, Systems & Information Engineering; Anne McAlister, Assistant Professor, First Year Engineering Center)
    • The sudden emergence of AI tools like ChatGPT has created a rich space for scholarly work in engineering and computer science education.  Such LLM AI tools are opening new doors in the classroom and presenting new challenges.  In this session, several UVA engineering educators will share their use of AI in a range of classroom situations in lightning-style talks and all participants will be invited to share their insights about key AI-in-education research directions that the engineering education community should explore. This research interest group aims to build an inclusive community of scholars across UVA who are interested in engaging in engineering education scholarship and advance their ability to engage in high impact educational research. All are welcome - whether you are new to educational research or have decades of experience.
  • Industry Engagement & the SEAS 40Core Program - Room B (Chris Ervin, Director of SEAS Industry Engagement)
    • The 40Core program will be explained in detail, walking through the recruiting, research, and commercialization components. Other information will include partner lists, faculty engagement example(s), tools deployed, and future plans.
  • Soft-/BioMaterials and Biomanufacturing - Room C (Chris Highley, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering)
    • This group is formed to coalesce members of this community to identify and pursue strategic opportunities and to organize activities that energize and enhance interactions across labs, departments, and schools.
  • Robotics + X - Room D (Rohan Chandra, Assistant Professor, Computer Science)
    • This session will discuss and brainstorm ideas for a Robotics + X Symposium, to be held later this year. The Robotics + X Symposium is a two-day Sandpit-style event designed to spark unexpected collaborations and bold new research ideas at the intersection of robotics and other engineering disciplines. Through icebreakers and interactive brainstorming, participants will exchange ideas, form teams, and create project/proposal concepts with real funding potential. The scope of the resulting projects could range from small proposals to large center-level grants. This event calls for participants who want to think big as a collective unit and want to use this opportunity to push for a large-scale outcome involving robotics.

3:45-4:00 Concluding Remarks - Lobby (Jennifer West, Dean and Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering)

4:30   Tours of the Center for Applied Biomechanics (CAB); Faculty Headshots

  • Shuttles will take faculty to and from CAB; CAB tours will consist of 4 stations of 10-15 minutes each, and should be completed around 5:30pm