AIM Seed Grants Support 22 AI Research Projects
From developing futuristic packaging that guards food freshness and safety, to improving speech therapy for neurodiverse people, to developing novel sea ice monitoring techniques, 22 new artificial intelligence (AI) research projects were awarded through a new University of Maryland seed grant program, totaling about $1.5 million.
The grants are administered by the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM), a collaborative hub that the university launched last spring to conduct research, offer innovative and experiential learning opportunities for students, and focus on responsible and ethical AI technology to advance the public good. UMD and its philanthropic and industry partners plan to invest more than $100 million in the institute over the next 10 years.
The grants were awarded in several categories, with funding from AIM and matching funds from campus units.
Three projects involving BSOS faculty were included in the Cross-College Collaborative Awards ($100,000-$300,000):
AI-Driven Sensor Fusion for Arctic Sea Ice Mapping
Art Associate Professor Cy Keener, Geographical Sciences and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Associate Professor Sinead Farrell, and Computer Science and UMIACS Assistant Professor Christopher Metzler plan to develop advanced AI-driven photogrammetry and sensor fusion techniques to enhance long-term coastal monitoring efforts. They will identify scientifically significant Arctic sea ice regions and then develop low-cost and accessible sensing platforms to survey the areas and form high-resolution 3D reconstructions of the ice above and below the sea surface.
AI-Driven Development of Neurodiversity Affirming Practices for Teachers and Clinicians (ADAPT)
For this community-based grant, Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education Assistant Professor Veronica Kang; Hearing and Speech Sciences Assistant Professor José Ortiz; and Psychology Assistant Research Professor Heather Yarger will collaborate with Kate Lu, clinical director and parent representative at the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center Health Clinic, and Ariel La, a speech language pathologist at Speech Gardens, to train UMD students to use the TerpAI chatbot in conjunction with ADAPT. This checklist for neurodiversity-affirming and culturally sustaining instruction supports emotion regulation, executive functioning, communication, and social and play skills for culturally diverse autistic youths in Maryland and Virginia.
Participatory Design of AI Tools for Neurodiversity-Affirming Speech Therapy
Maryland Language Science Center Assistant Research Professor Shevaun Lewis and Hearing and Speech Sciences Clinical Professor Kathy Dow-Burger plan to develop a new framework for collaborative analysis and goal setting between speech-language therapists and their clients that is centered around objective conversation data. They plan to engage autistic adults and speech-language therapists in the participatory design of AI tools for analyzing recordings of everyday conversations.
Illustration via iStock
Published on Wed, May 28, 2025 - 2:12PM