By SHANNON O. WELLS
A celebratory lunch held on Sept. 10 at Posvar Hall recognized this year’s HAIL Graduate Awardee Program, honoring individuals whose research, teaching and leadership aim to redefine artificial intelligence (AI) and data science through HAIL, the University’s Hub for AI and Data Science Leadership.
Described by HAIL leaders as a “friendly, informal gathering,” the event included a short program highlighting each award recipient, the impact of their work and an open networking period. It also provided a “great opportunity” to meet faculty, staff and students from different departments, learn about potentially collaborative projects and ask awardees about their approaches to AI-related teaching and research.
Eight Pitt doctoral students participated in the inaugural awards program, each recognized as “showing curiosity and critical thinking about responsibility in AI and data science practices,” said Nora Mattern, program facilitator and HAIL’s associate director of responsible AI and data science practices.
Students participating included:
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Khushboo Bhutani — Film and Media Studies Program and Department of English
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Rose Gatfield-Jeffries — Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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Alex Jennings — Department of English
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Ruijie Ma — School of Social Work
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Jennifer Nwogu — Information Science Program
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Benjamin Panny — Intelligent Systems Program
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Tessa Rhinehart — Department of Biological Sciences
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Anthony Robol — Department of Industrial Engineering
Throughout the spring 2026 semester, the awardee cohort met with faculty and staff from around the University who guided discussion about principles of responsible AI and data science work.
The experts and the principles they addressed included:
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Michael Colaresi (Department of Political Science), accountability
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Bob Gradeck (University Center for Social and Urban Research), community engagement
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Justin Kitzes (Department of Biological Sciences), reproducibility
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Sergey Frolov (Department of Physics & Astronomy), reproducibility and replication
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Ahmad Tafti (Pitt HexAI Lab and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences), explainable AI
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Ruth Mostern (Department of History and Institute for Spatial History Innovation), agency and respect for people
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Melissa Bilec (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation), sustainability
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Gena Kovalcik (Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation), sustainability
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Carl Haynes-Magyar (University Library System), data quality and stewardship
The students were charged with exploring two questions: “What does responsible data and AI use and development entail in different disciplines or professions?” and “What individual actions can be taken to practice responsible data and AI use and development?” noted Mattern, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship.
The student awardees created several works, including what culminated in a poster presentation at the DataSci+AI Forum: The Story and Future of Pittsburgh Through Data event held March 26-27 at the William Pitt Union and Heinz History Center.
In this collaborative effort, students developed a taxonomy of responsibility principles, along with their own definition of responsible data and AI work: “Responsible data and AI work integrates human-centered, methodological, and forward-looking actions to balance the risks and benefits of data and AI-driven research.”
The spring forum set out to make the case that “the city and the University that bears its name are well equipped to accommodate and advance the latest digital technology-based revolution.”
Participants included a mix of students, faculty and staff from Pitt and neighboring universities, industry partners, nonprofit organizations, government leaders and community groups. The event aimed to give students exposure to real-world applications of AI, faculty and researchers an opportunity to connect their work to broader societal challenges, and provide regional partners a chance to explore collaborative and workforce development opportunities.
“We have such creative and dedicated collaborators internally, such as the School of Computing and Information leadership, and externally — with the 13 companies and organizations that comprise the HAIL advisory board,” said HAIL
Director Michael Colaresi, associate vice provost for data science, in March. “This dynamic network has built both interpersonal trust and organizational bridges that we believe are necessary to lead in the age of AI.”
HAIL Graduate Awardee Program students also developed a white paper reflecting on the program and articulating a responsibility practice they can carry forward in their work with data and AI, Mattern noted. Two awardees wrote about how discussing principles of reproducibility and replication informed their work and motivated them to build additional documentation practices into research.
Another student, whose scholarship involves technology design with local community groups, wrote about being inspired by discussions of data stewardship, respect for people, and accountability. She plans to extend additional decision-making to community collaborators about how data is shared and managed.
Awardees also collaborated on a short article describing the structure and outcomes of the awardee program that will be published in a fall 2026 issue of the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy.
HAIL welcomes those interested in the 2026-27 Graduate Awardee program to apply through the online application. Pitt graduate students are invited to apply by Thursday, Sept. 17.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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