USC is fast becoming a leader in using artificial intelligence for education and research. Two associate vice presidents in the office for the Vice President for Research that are contributing to this innovation, Lumi Bakos and Emily Devereux, presented an AI intelligence project and won the Discovery and Innovation Showcase hosted by the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).
Bakos and Devereux's AI-Driven Research Intelligence Project used artificial intelligence to find important insights hidden in USC’s real-world research data ecosystem. Aided by data scientist consultant Alex Teghipco, Bakos and Devereux worked to build an integrated dataset that enabled the AI to analyze complex trends, patterns, and collaboration networks.
Receiving this award from NCURA solidifies our position on the cutting edge of AI in research development.
The AI project pinpointed areas across various departments that would benefit from focus on boosting submissions and funding, revealing opportunities to enhance efficiency. Through the creation of a unified, searchable database enhanced by AI-driven analytics, the team transformed disparate information into a strategic resource for research planning and investment. This achievement represents a significant step forward in data-informed decision-making at USC.
“There was a lot involved in cleaning fifteen years of unstandardized data on research activity, sponsored awards, and contracts and preparing it for analysis,” Bakos says. “Now we can do the fun stuff and really explore our bigger questions about strategic research planning.”
Our hard work has kept us at the forefront of research development, and we are so proud to be tapped as a model for others.
The project lent itself to the sharpening plans for the Carolina Grants and Innovation Hub (CGI Hub) at the University of South Carolina, headed by Emily Devereux.
“The AI-driven analysis played a pivotal role in shaping the CGI Hub’s mission and structure by giving us a clear, data-informed picture of USC’s research landscape,” Devereux says. “The strong correlation we uncovered between proposal submissions and awarded grants underscored just how essential it is to actively foster proposal activity at USC. The project allowed us to assess research productivity, funding trends, and collaboration networks, while also revealing inefficiencies that informed targeted support strategies including strengthening research development, enhancing faculty training, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.” The AI research project allowed the CGI Hub to take a peek into current research trends, high-potential research areas, and provided access to funding trajectory projections.
The CGI Hub is the University of South Carolina’s premier institutional initiative that focuses on research training and furthering research development.
“Receiving this award from NCURA solidifies our position on the cutting edge of AI in research development, and we are so excited to continue doing the work to build momentum in this area. This is just the beginning,” says Bakos.
Moving forward, Bakos and Devereux plan to use their AI-driven research model to continue strengthening research capacity at USC.
“The team’s goal is to collect and transform data for research innovation and impact,” says Devereux. “Our hard work has kept us at the forefront of research development, and we are so proud to be tapped as a model for others.”