The artificial intelligence tools that could help a marine biologist predict coastal erosion patterns or enable a historian to analyze thousands of archival documents in hours have one thing in common: they require computing power most researchers can’t access on their own.

That gap is closing, thanks to a workshop held January 22, 2025, that connected Southern California researchers to powerful AI resources previously out of reach for many academic institutions.

The University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), part of the Viterbi School of Engineering, brought together about 100 researchers, educators and students from approximately 30 institutions for the Southern California AI Workshop, designed to open doors to advanced AI tools supported by the National Science Foundation.

“The findings from our pre-workshop survey allowed us to design a workshop program that directly reflects the needs of the research community,” said Ewa Deelman, research professor at the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science, USC ISI principal scientist and co-principal investigator of ACCESS Support. “By bringing together ACCESS and NAIRR capabilities with the research needs and practices of the community, we are helping researchers move beyond experimentation toward sustainable, production-level use of AI. ”

The event drew participants from 22 Southern California colleges and universities, including University of California campuses, California State University schools and private institutions, along with representatives from national cyberinfrastructure organizations and foundations. Researchers came from fields ranging from engineering and computer science to health sciences, environmental studies, social sciences, education and the humanities.

What Researchers Actually Wanted

(Photo/Mingwei Song)

Before the workshop, organizers surveyed the research community to understand their needs. The message was clear: researchers wanted practical training, help navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of AI tools, and concrete examples of how AI fits into real research workflows—not just theoretical possibilities.

They also emphasized concerns about using AI responsibly, ensuring their work remains transparent and reproducible, and understanding how to scale their applications using shared infrastructure rather than building expensive systems from scratch.

The USC ISI team structured the workshop around these priorities, focusing on practical applications rather than abstract concepts.

From Theory to Practice

Workshop sessions showcased AI in action across multiple domains. Presentations and posters demonstrated AI-enabled research workflows, large language models being used for data analysis and education, AI-driven simulation and modeling, and discipline-specific applications spanning the sciences, engineering and humanities.

Throughout the day, the emphasis remained on maintaining research rigor while making AI tools accessible and scalable. Participants heard from experts on the varied type of AI resources offered by NAIRR And ACCESS programs and how to request access to these resources. They  highlighted practical tools and workflows, and shared strategies for advancing research across disciplines with AI. Sessions also tackled critical questions about transparency, reproducibility and ethical use of AI in academic research.

The workshop was organized by USC ISI’s ACCESS Support Team and supported by the NSF through its Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program and the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot. Key organizers included Mats Rynge and Karan Vahi, senior computer scientists at ISI, and creators of the workflow management system Pegasus. Both initiatives aim to level the playing field by providing researchers nationwide with access to advanced computing and AI resources, regardless of their institution’s size or budget.

Building Momentum

(Photo/Mingwei Song)

The event reinforced the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s role in national efforts to expand access to AI and advanced cyberinfrastructure. Through involvement in ACCESS and NAIRR, USC ISI enables researchers nationwide to use NSF-supported resources to accelerate discovery, improve reproducibility and train future scientists and engineers.

ISI, which is part of the Viterbi School, plans to build on the workshop’s momentum through future training events, community engagement and partnerships advancing responsible AI-enabled research.

For more information about the workshop, click here.

The event was supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2138286.

Published on January 23rd, 2026

Last updated on January 23rd, 2026