Purdue Polytechnic’s inaugural Applied AI Day, hosted April 11, 2025, brought faculty, students and industry professionals together to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming real-world systems. Organized by the Applied AI Research Center (AARC), the event featured keynote speakers from Amazon and Apple, faculty presentations spanning construction, safety, and manufacturing, and a poster session showcasing ongoing research from Purdue students.
Exploring generative modeling and AI-driven commerce
Two industry experts delivered keynote presentations:
-
Navdeep Jaitly, research scientist at Apple Machine Learning Research, spoke on the drawbacks of data tokenization in generative AI and shared his team’s work in building multimodal models that generate raw data directly—such as audio and image models conditioned on text or video. His talk challenged conventional deep learning pipelines and proposed alternatives that better preserve data complexity.
- Iris Pan, lead designer for XR and AI at Amazon, discussed the future of AI-powered shopping experiences, including Amazon’s "View in Your Room" AR feature and conversational tools like Rufus. Her talk emphasized the evolving role of designers in shaping intelligent commerce and the creative collaboration between designers and applied scientists.
Faculty research tackles AI applications in safety, infrastructure and manufacturing
Four Purdue Polytechnic faculty members presented ongoing research at the intersection of AI and industry:
- Rua Mae Williams (Computer Graphics Technology) challenged technologists to confront eugenic legacies embedded in AI design and offered frameworks for inclusive, community-centered AI systems.
- Kyubyung Kang (Construction Management Technology) introduced a framework that leverages low-cost data from CCTV feeds to monitor infrastructure in real time using BIM and deep learning, making AI more accessible for construction management.
- Xingyu Li (Engineering Technology) shared a model for human-centric decision-making in smart manufacturing, integrating generative AI with digital twins to dynamically optimize production systems with minimal data.
- Gaurav Nanda (Engineering Technology) demonstrated how AI and human-computer interaction (HCI) techniques can improve injury surveillance and safety policy by making unstructured data easier to analyze and interpret.
Poster session gives students a platform to present applied AI projects
Held in Purdue’s Stewart Center, the student poster session featured work from both undergraduate and graduate students, reflecting the center’s mission to develop AI talent and support hands-on learning. Many posters linked to active faculty research and real-world partnerships.
About the Applied AI Research Center
Launched in 2024, the Applied AI Research Center (AARC) is a hub for interdisciplinary research that prioritizes practical, ethical, and impactful applications of AI. With core focus areas including cybersecurity, robotics, natural language processing, and data analytics, AARC aims to become the first stop for industry and public-sector collaborators seeking to solve applied challenges with AI innovation.
For more about the center’s mission, research, and events, visit polytechnic.purdue.edu/aarc.