From April 1 to May 1, Penn Engineering will host leading experts, insightful discussions, and interactive workshops exploring on the impact of artificial intelligence on society.
4 min. read
Penn Engineering will host the second annual AI Month from April 1 to May 1.
Key Takeaways
Penn’s 2025 AI Month unites academia, industry, and policy leaders to explore responsible AI use and its impact on human well-being
Events from April 1 to May 1 will address critical topics including AI safety, ethics, entrepreneurship, and sustainability
Renowned experts like Yann LeCun and Bill Dally will headline discussions highlighting the future possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence
In an era defined by rapid technological transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a central force reshaping nearly every facet of human life—from health care and education to ethics and social justice. As society grapples with the implications of AI-driven systems, understanding their impact on human well-being becomes ever more critical.
This monthlong initiative will convene leading scholars, industry experts, policymakers, and the broader Penn community to examine how AI technologies can enhance human potential while responsibly addressing ethical considerations and societal challenges.
“The impact of AI is widespread and goes beyond engineering. As innovators, we are not only building the future of AI but also ensuring that it serves humanity responsibly,” says Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering. “Artificial intelligence has brought about a call to action for collaboration. The events of AI Month @ Penn invite experts in diverse disciplines from the University and beyond to come together and explore the immense possibilities and challenges presented by AI and related technologies.”
AI Month events include:
Wednesday, April 2, Noon-1:15 p.m., in person and virtual:ASSET Seminar: “Getting Lost in ML Safety Vibes.” The weekly ASSET seminar series on safe, explainable, and trustworthy AI kicks off April with a talk by Virginia Smith, the Leonardo Associate Professor of Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon University. Smith will discuss the brittleness of post-hoc safety techniques in machine learning and explore ensuring AI safety by design.
Location: Amy Gutmann Hall, Room 414 (with a Zoom webinar option for virtual attendees)
Thursday, April 3, Noon-1 p.m., in person and virtual:IDEAS/STAT Optimization Seminar: “Stochastic-Gradient-based Algorithms for Solving Nonconvex Constrained Optimization Problems.”Frank E. Curtis,professor and director of the Program in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Lehigh University, will kick off the weekly IDEAS/STAT Seminar series by presenting recent advances in optimization algorithms for machine learning and engineering applications. This technical talk is part of the interdisciplinary Optimization Seminar series co-hosted by Penn’s Statistics and IDEAS institutes.
Thursday, April 3, 4-5 p.m., in person and virtual:A Fireside Chat with Rajeev Misra: “Global Trends in Technology, Business, and Human Capital.” Penn Engineering hosts an intimate conversation with Rajeev Misra (Penn Engineering and Penn Arts & Sciences alumnus), the CEO and co-founder of One Investment Management and former co-CEO of SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Misra will share insights on the intersection of technological innovation, business strategy, and talent in the AI era, drawing on his leadership experience in global finance and tech investment.
Location: Wu and Chen Auditorium (Levine Hall 101), 3330 Walnut St (with a Zoom option available).
Friday, April 4, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., in person:Penn AI Governance Workshop. This daylong workshop—presented by the Wharton Accountable AI Lab and co-sponsored by the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative, Penn Engineering, Perry World House, and the Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition—will convene faculty from across the University to explore responsible and trustworthy AI.
Through panel discussions, lightning research talks, and networking sessions, the Penn AI Governance Workshop will map out Penn’s strengths in AI policy, ethics, safety, and education.
Location: Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk
Friday, April 11, 10:30-11:30 a.m., in person:Generative AI Panel.Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship, which is celebrating 25 years of operations, will host a panel of industry leaders to discuss breakthroughs and opportunities in generative AI and how Penn is contributing to this rapidly evolving field. Panelists include Elizabeth “Liz” Golden (CEO & Co-Founder of Wavelet Medical), Mel Tang (Founding Operating Partner & CFO at Matter Venture Partners, and former CFO of Ring), Nat Trask(Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics), and Mark Weber (Director’s Fellow at MIT Media Lab and former Strategy Lead at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab). These experts will share insights on entrepreneurship, investment, and innovation in the era of large AI models.
Location: Amy Gutmann Hall (Stavis Family Auditorium), 3317 Chestnut St.
Thursday, April 17, 5:30-7 p.m., in person and virtual:AFireside Chat with Yann LeCun: “The Future of AI.” A special highlight of AI Month, this event features Yann LeCun,chief AI scientist at Meta and an ACM Turing Award Laureate (often called “the Nobel Prize of computing”), in an open conversation about the future of AI.
LeCun, who is also a professor at New York University known for his pioneering work in deep learning, will discuss the next frontiers in AI research and responsible deployment. The fireside chat will be hosted by Michael Kearns, National Center Professor of Management & Technology in Computer and Information Science at Penn Engineering and founding director of Penn’s Warren Center for Network & Data Sciences.
Location: Amy Gutmann Hall (Stavis Family Auditorium, with a Zoom option).
Thursday, May 1, 1-2:30 p.m., in person:Energy-Efficient AI – Franklin Institute Laureate Symposium. In conjunction with The Franklin Institute’s 2025 Awards Week, Penn Engineering will host William “Bill” Dally, chief scientist and senior VP of Research at NVIDIA, who is the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal awardee in Computer and Cognitive Science.
This symposium, Energy-Efficient AI, will honor Dally’s contributions to computer architecture and efficient AI computing and features a panel of experts discussing how to make AI systems more energy-efficient and sustainable. Joseph Devietti(Penn Engineering) will moderate the panel. The event will feature research talks by Yakun Sophia Shao (UC Berkely), Margaret Martonosi (Princeton University), and Benjamin C. Lee(Penn Engineering). They will explore advances in low-power AI chips, green computing, and the future of high-performance AI with reduced energy footprints.
This symposium, “Energy-Efficient AI,” will honor Dally’s contributions to computer architecture and efficient AI computing, and features a panel of experts discussing how to make AI systems more energy-efficient and sustainable. Joseph Devietti (Penn Engineering) will moderate the panel. The event will feature research talks by Yakun Sophia Shao (UC Berkeley), Margaret Martonosi (Princeton University) and Benjamin Lee (Penn Engineering). They will explore advances in low-power AI chips, green computing, and the future of high-performance AI with reduced energy footprints.
Nanoparticle blueprints reveal path to smarter medicines
New research involving Penn Engineering shows detailed variation in lipid nanoparticle size, shape, and internal structure, and finds that such factors correlate with how well they deliver therapeutic cargo to a particular destination.
A generous gift from alumni Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman brings the work of internationally acclaimed artist Jaume Plensa to the University of Pennsylvania. The latest addition to the Penn Art Collection expands Philadelphia's public art.
A massive chunk of ice, a new laser, and new information on sea-level rise
For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.
