NSF grant to increase access to AI research, help save sea turtles, and more

Last week, the University of Oklahoma announced a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Overall, the NSF provided more than $100 million in investments to establish and support five artificial intelligence (AI) Institutes and education centers. The announcement detailed various ways the grant will help promote diversity throughout STEM, enable more students to research AI, and even protect sea turtles in southern Texas during potentially deadly meteorological events. "It doesn't get cold very often in Corpus Christi, but at times, strong cold fronts can decrease the temperature of the water in bays and lagunas very quickly," said Philippe Tissot, associate research professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, one of the institute's partnering organizations, in a press release. "Up to thousands of sea turtles can rise to the surface during these events, where ships can run over them."