Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing fields in recent years due to a convergence of several key factors. First and foremost, the exponential growth in computing power and the availability of vast amounts of data have provided the foundation for A.I.’s rapid advancement.

This has allowed A.I. researchers and practitioners to develop increasingly complex and sophisticated machine learning models that can analyze and understand data in ways that were previously unimaginable. Additionally, the open-source nature of A.I. research and the collaboration of global communities have accelerated progress by making knowledge and tools widely accessible, fostering innovation and the sharing of best practices across borders.

What does this mean for MSOE?

Julia Neuberger is a junior biomedical engineering major, and one of the first MSOE students on track to graduate with the new A.I. for Emerging Applications Certificate. She has been putting her knowledge of this cutting-edge technology to work in the real world as part of a project that trains A.I. technology to automate the reformatting of CT extremity images. “Many times, when patients come in to get a CT scan, they are unable to get in the proper position to get the best view of certain body parts,” said Neuberger. “This could be due to the injury itself or other factors. The images that are collected then need to be manually manipulated by the CT technician or doctor, which can be tedious and take a long time. The project I am part of uses algorithms and A.I. to automate the process to save precious time for these medical professionals.”

The A.I. for Emerging Applications Undergraduate Certificate provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students like Neuberger. It was developed by Dr. Olga Imas ’99, along with Dr. Jeffery LaMack ’97, Dr. Jonathon Magaña and Dr. Nadya Shalamova, as an extension of a collaboration with GE HealthCare MICT Digital and Clinical Apps. Imas, who previously worked at GE, spoke with her former colleagues to create a paid internship opportunity for students in biomedical engineering through a grant in 2019. This partnership sparked the MSOE faculty members’ idea to create a certificate in the A.I. space with the goal to have students learn the skills needed in their internships earlier on in their academic careers in an emerging industry.

“The practical nature of this certificate is akin to an internship for our students but with an element of a mini degree,” said Imas. “It offers valuable hands-on experience in one of the fastest growing areas: A.I. and deep learning.”

Biomedical engineering and computer science students have been the first to get access to this certificate and internship since the work being done at GE HealthCare utilizes deep learning applications to analyze medical images in a variety of clinical areas. “Our partnership with MSOE helps support a diversified focus in multiple areas of A.I. development,” said Amy Deubig, global product manager CT clinical applications at GE HealthCare. “Students are working on multiple projects that span different anatomies and multiple clinical disease states. They are assisting with database curation, generation of ground truth anatomical segmentations and labels, as well as testing different deep learning inferencing models.”

Not only is Neuberger getting a chance to work with emerging technologies, she also has had the opportunity to learn directly from professionals in her future field, hearing their expertise.

“Until five years ago, these were Ph.D.-only topics,” said Dr. Derek Riley, professor and computer science program director. “Our undergraduates have a unique opportunity to not only pursue a certificate in A.I., but to gain hands-on experience with Rosie, MSOE’s extremely powerful supercomputer, as part of their undergraduate education.”

MSOE is a leader in A.I. education thanks to MSOE faculty and the generous support and vision of Dr. Dwight Diercks ’90 for A.I. to touch all fields of study. Diercks is an MSOE Regent and senior vice president of software engineering at NVIDIA. In 2017, MSOE established a B.S. in Computer Science focused on A.I. In the past two years, MSOE launched an M.S. in Machine Learning, Graduate Certificate in Applied Machine Learning, Graduate Certificate in Machine Learning Engineering, Graduate Certificate in Advanced Business Strategy Using A.I. and Analytics, and an Undergraduate Certificate in A.I. for Emerging Applications. These topics and technologies are being incorporated throughout MSOE’s academic offerings and students in several programs are using Rosie, MSOE’s supercomputer.

Businesses are increasingly investing in A.I.-driven solutions to optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and gain valuable insights from data. They are recognizing the importance of combining the technical A.I. skills with expertise in an applied area, industry or discipline to identify and implement effective A.I. solutions. As A.I. continues to demonstrate its potential in solving complex problems and driving innovation, the field attracts a diverse pool of talent, including researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs, fostering a vibrant ecosystem that further propels its rapid expansion.

“Our machine learning graduate programs provide dual expertise in developing state-of-the-art models and their deployment and operation in continuously-running, customer-facing services,” said Dr. RJ Nowling, associate professor and Machine Learning Graduate Certificate coordinator. “Companies refer to engineers with both sets of skills as ‘unicorns’ because they’re so rare. We’re aiming to change that.”