Center for Data Science and AI (CDSAI), UMass Amherst | Fall 2025 – Spring 2026
Explore
Engage
ACCELERATE
Advance
About the program
The AI in Research Accelerator Program is an interdisciplinary program offering workshops, trainings, seed funding opportunities, and technical support from AI experts. This initiative is designed to support researchers exploring the possibilities of using artificial intelligence and machine learning in their research, as well as accelerate research projects already using or planning to use AI to further research goals.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
- Develop practical AI skills while exploring the art of the possible for AI in research.
- Connect with experts and identify technical resources.
- Transform ideas into prototypes and improve funding competitiveness.
- Join an interdisciplinary AI-in-research community at UMass.
Upcoming Events & Office Hours
Prompt Engineering: Skill-Based Training for LLMs
Hands-on workshop
Introduction to the AI in Research Accelerator Program
Information session
Advanced LLMs: APIs, RAG, and Custom Workflows
Intermediate technical workshop
AI-Assisted Coding: Programming for Non-Programmers
Custom LLMs and Fine-Tuning
Advanced technical session with Research Computing
Office Hours
Event Schedule
RSVP (encouraged but not required): https://forms.gle/fuEz5Lxy8kEmRHB98
Zoom link for all hybrid events: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/92327672130
| Event | Description | Date(s) | Location |
Joint Seminar with CSSI: Incorporating AI in Social Science Research | Joint seminar, faculty-focused lightening talks: This collaborative seminar will showcase how faculty across disciplines are integrating AI into their research. | October 24, 12:00 – 1:30 PM | ILC Communication Hub, Room N301 |
Prompt Engineering – Skill-Based Training for LLMs: How to Build A Personalized Grant Matchmaking AI Agent | Hands-on workshop: Hosted by Professor Patrick Flaherty (Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow) and produced in collaboration with the Office of Research Development, this workshop will explain how to harness genAI to discover personalized funding opportunities. Participants will create their own custom prompt-based AI “agent” that filters and matches federal and private sponsor solicitations. |
| LGRC A112 + Zoom |
Advanced LLMs – APIs, RAG, and Custom Workflows | Intermediate technical workshop: Move beyond basic LLM usage by integrating models into customized research or workflow pipelines. | LGRC A112 + Zoom | |
Assisted Coding – Programming for Non-Programmers | Hands-on workshop: Learn how non-programmers and occasional coders can use AI tools. | LGRC A112 + Zoom | |
Custom LLMs and Fine-Tuning | Advanced technical session: Learn how to build, fine-tune, and deploy custom AI models using UMass Amherst’s Unity Research Computing Platform’s infrastructure. | December 2, 12:00 – 2:00 PM | LGRC A112 + Zoom |
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
EXPLORE
Discover the potential of AI to advance research in your domain.
CDSAI’s “AI-in-Research” workshops, community forums, and discussions are designed to build foundational understanding and encourage exploration. These are live interactive sessions with opportunities for discussion and Q&A.
Upcoming workshops:
- Computational Social Science Institute (CSSI) Workshop: October 24th, 2025
- UMass Chan Medical School Workshop: Date coming soon
ENGAGE
Develop AI skills tailored to your work.
Learn practical skills to apply AI and ML methods through AI enablement modules designed around self-guided content, live sessions, and 1:1 support.
- AI in Research Enablement Modules: Live sessions covering a variety of AI topics for research (see schedule at the top of this page).
- AI/ML training resources: Hands-on, self-guided training resources focused on developing technical skills and knowledge.
- Expert office hours: Consult with dataCore to address questions and provide guidance. Open to UMass faculty on Wednesdays, 9:00 – 9:30 AM. Register here.
ACCELERATE
Get hands-on support to kickstart your projects with the benefit of AI or ML.
January 2026 – May 2026
If you have a well formed AI-in-Research idea and are looking to accelerate your work consider applying for our spring angel award program. This program provides no-cost and low-cost longer term engagements with our staff of AI and software engineers.
Propose a project by January 15, 2026.
Selected faculty members or teams will receive dedicated support and expertise from CDSAI’s dataCore team throughout the project implementation stage from February – May 2026, including:
- Technical support and guidance for prototype development
- Weekly progress check-ins
- Midpoint project reviews
- Final project demo sessions
Deadline for project proposal submission: January 15th, 2026
Advance
Build sustainable funding and future collaborations.
Partner with us to flexibly extend your research team.
We provide assistance with developing competitive grant proposals that include partnerships with our team.