January 2025 Message: As we step into 2025, my wish for AI4OPT is to continue empowering people and organizations to harness the transformative power of AI. Our institute has a long track record of building responsible AI systems that create significant value across various sectors, including power systems and supply chains.

We are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking new project with the Power Systems Engineering Research Center starting this month. Additionally, we are excited to welcome Eli Kuperman as our new Corporate Relations Program manager. He will help drive impactful AI solutions.

Education remains a cornerstone of AI4OPT's efforts to empower people. After graduating, our former Ph.D. students continue to bring value with AI and optimization in a wide variety of roles. This newsletter spotlights Chung Jae Lee, one of these students. Furthermore, AI4OPT programs like the Seth Bonder Camp for high school students continue to inspire the next generation of AI and optimization enthusiasts.

AI4OPT is also helping legislators learn more about AI to support them in their public roles, enabling them to make informed decisions. For example, I had the privilege of serving on the bipartisan Georgia Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence, where we discussed the opportunities and challenges of AI. Our latest initiative is an AI workshop for the incoming class of Georgia legislators so they can start their terms with a solid understanding of AI.

As we look ahead, I am confident that AI4OPT will continue to make a lasting impact by integrating AI and optimization to solve complex challenges. Together, we are poised to tackle new opportunities, drive innovation, and empower individuals and organizations to achieve their full potential. Let's make 2025 a year of remarkable progress.

October 2024 MessageIn October, AI4OPT celebrated its third anniversary, marking the conclusion of a year filled with scientific breakthroughs and real-world impacts at the intersection of AI and optimization. The fourth year is already off to a strong start.

AI4OPT held its annual TechFest this month, Dorit Hochbaum received the Khachiyan Prize at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, and Bistra Dilkina organized a Dagstuhl workshop that brought together more than 40 researchers in AI and optimization. In collaboration with the nonprofit HerWILL, AI4OPT also hosted the AI for Equality Workshops and Datathon, which drew more than 300 participants from around the world. The start of the fourth year also brings an opportunity to update AI4OPT's structure to reflect its evolving research. These updates will impact how the Institute brands itself, fosters collaboration, and communicates externally.

A prime example is the new AI4OPT website, which features a fresh look and organizes the Institute’s methodological thrusts into five themes that better represent its research. Despite these changes, AI4OPT’s mission remains the same: to fuse AI and optimization to deliver outcomes neither field could achieve independently.