The College of Sciences has named Paul Liu in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Emily Griffith in the Department of Statistics as the first directors of the AI Hub for Science. The hub launched last year to promote research, innovation and education collaboration in artificial intelligence and machine learning across the NC State campus.

Liu, as director, and Griffith, as associate director, will catalyze AI interdisciplinary research, thoughtfully expand the use of AI in education and training, and build strategic partnerships that position NC State at the forefront of AI-enabled scientific innovation. Their combined leadership will support the development of scalable, responsible AI solutions while preparing the next generation of scientists and researchers to thrive in an AI-integrated world.

Both directors bring a wealth of AI-related knowledge to their new roles. Liu, a professor of oceanography, has developed extensive international collaborations as well as significant expertise in the application of generative AI to scientific research and education. He has taught a graduate-level course on generative AI for science and has delivered more than 10 intensive, hands-on AI/LLM training workshops across campus, in the community and at national venues. He is the author of two books — Generative AI for Science and How to Build and Fine-Tune a Small Language Model — and is a co-developer of several AI-driven platforms, including OceanAI, OceanGPT, DeltaGPT, an AI-powered curriculum-skill-career system, and the Triangle Auto-Trading system. His work focuses on advancing accessible, domain-specific AI solutions that support scientific discovery, education and workforce development.

Griffith is a professor of the practice and co-associate head in the Department of Statistics. She is also a co-director of the Data Science Consulting Program, a joint effort of the Data Science and AI Academy and Data Science Services department in the NC State University Libraries. Her work focuses on applied, collaborative statistics and data science. She also works to develop strategies to further innovation in the university’s data science and AI initiatives through interdisciplinary collaboration. Griffith has more than 100 collaborative publications with NC State researchers across scientific domains, including veterinary medicine, paleontology, toxicology, entomology and the social sciences.