AI Convening 2025 - Reimagining Teaching, Research, and Innovation at Cal Poly

Hear from Cal Poly faculty, staff, and partners leading responsible and human-centered AI innovation in education and beyond.

  

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Themes

• Ethical AI and Academic Integrity
• Generative AI for Learning Design
• Faculty, Staff, and Student AI Literacy
• Campus AI Tools and Policy

Agenda

Time	Activity	Location	Livestream
8:00–9:00 AM	Registration & Coffee	ATL Lobby
9:00–9:30 AM	Opening Remarks	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
9:40–10:40 AM	Faculty Panel: AI in Teaching & Learning	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
10:45–11:00 AM	Break
11:00 AM–12:10 PM	Faculty Panel: AI in Research & Innovation	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
12:15–1:15 PM	Faculty Poster Session & Staff AI Showcase (lunch provided)	Bonderson High Bay	Zoom
1:30–2:30 PM	Staff Panel: AI in Administrative Functions	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
2:30–2:45 PM	Break
2:45–3:45 PM	Industry Keynote: AI and Business Transformation (Dr. Mekena McGrew, Deloitte)	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
3:45–4:00 PM	Closing Reflections	ATL Auditorium	Zoom
4:00–5:00 PM	Reception & Networking	ATL Atrium

Speakers & Panel Topics

All panels and the keynote will be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing.

Keynote

Deloitte’s Dr. Mekena McGrew — AI and Business Transformation

Cal Poly will welcome Dr. Mekena McGrew, quantum information lead at Deloitte, member of the Noyce School of Applied Computing Advisory Board and and Noyce distinguished speaker, as keynote speaker for the AI Convening. Dr. McGrew will speak on AI and Business Transformation, sharing insights from industry on how artificial intelligence is driving innovation and organizational change.

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Faculty Panels

AI in Teaching and Learning

Moderator: Leida Chen (AI Faculty Fellow, OCOB)
Panelists: Dr. Ava Wright (Philosophy, CLA); Dr. Amir Hajrasouliha (City & Regional Planning, CAED); Dr. Stern Neill (Marketing, OCOB), Dr. Stina Attebery (Interdisciplinary Studies, CLA) 

Panelists will discuss how generative AI is transforming pedagogy, assessment, and student engagement across disciplines.

AI in Research and Innovation

Moderator: Dr. Ryan Jenkins (Philosophy, CLA)
Panelists: Dr. Foaad Khosmood (Computer Engineering / Computer Science & Software Engineering, CENG); Dr. Sarah Senk (English, CLA); Dr. Taiyo Inouye (Mathematics, BCSM); Dr. Franz Kurfess (Computer Science & Software Engineering, CENG); Dr. Javier Gonzalez-Sanchez (Computer Science & Software Engineering, CENG)

This session will highlight faculty research advancing responsible and human-centered AI innovation.

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Staff Panel

AI in University Operations

Moderator: Cheryl May (Special Advisor to the Provost and EVP)
Panelists: Darin Matthews (Administration & Finance); Erin Davis (University Communications & Marketing); Clint Hahlbeck (Bailey College of Science & Mathematics); Andrew Ostler (Information Technology Services)

Panelists will share practical examples of how AI tools—including ChatGPT and custom GPTs—are improving efficiency, communication, and service delivery across campus.

Poster Session & Staff AI Showcase

During the lunch hour, the Faculty Poster Session and Staff AI Showcase will highlight innovations, research, and practices exploring opportunities and challenges of AI in teaching, research, creative activities, operations, and academic life. 

Faculty Posters & Staff Showcase Projects

Explore projects advancing artificial intelligence across Cal Poly’s colleges and divisions.

Academic Affairs

• Enhancing Academic Support in the Age of AI: Co-Constructing Ethical Guidelines for Peer-Led Collaborative Learning
  Dawn Janke, Lydia Keema, Jeff Milbourne — Office of Writing and Learning, Academic Affairs

Administration & Finance

• AI-Enhanced Audio-Visual Infrastructure: Toward Intelligent, Ethical, and Sustainable Classrooms at Cal Poly
  Pei Zhang, Maneesh Kumar, Anthony Sawa, Vince Cimo, Scott Hermesch — Information Technology Services, Administration & Finance

Cal Poly Partners

• Designing the Cal Poly Super App: Exploring AI-Driven Experience Design and Student Engagement
  Ellen Curtis — Cal Poly Partners

Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (SEMSA)

• Scaling Career Education Through AI: Leveraging Big Resume to Advance Equity and Access
  Amie Hammond — Career Services

Bailey College of Science and Mathematics (BCSM)

• An AI Tutor for Boosting Engagement and Confidence in Chemistry
  Javin Oza, Pratish Patel — Chemistry & Biochemistry
• AI and Accessible Literacy: Preparing Teachers to Support Students with Disabilities
  Leah Wood — Education
• Designing the P–A–H Continuum with AI: From Direct Instruction to Self-Determination
  Andrea Somoza-Norton — Education
• Evolving but Not Solving: A Genetic Algorithm’s Struggle with LLM Reasoning About an Introductory Physics Problem
  Tom Bensky — Physics

College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED)

• Developing Reflective Design Practice Using AI Text-to-Image Tools
  Bret Betnar — Landscape Architecture
• Integrating Generative AI into Urban Planning Practices: A Framework
  Amir Hajrasouliha, Sahana Kotha, Blythe Haven Wilson, Ethan Michael Keller — City and Regional Planning

College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES)

• Detection of Downy Mildew in Arugula Using Modified YOLO Semantic Segmentation with Hyperspectral Imaging and Downy Mildew Index
  Bo Liu, Bennett Morris, Jenna Keller, John Joseph Urrutia, Shunping Ding — BioResource and Agricultural Engineering
• Integrating AI Literacy and Critical Thinking into BRAE-216 through a Flipped, AI-Enhanced Learning Model
  Bo Liu — BioResource and Agricultural Engineering
• Learning AI by Doing: A Pilot Study of Human–AI Collaboration and Employee Stress in Guest Services
  Pei Zhang, Keri Schwab, Amelia Iseley, Ellie Rupert — Experience Industry Management
• Mapping Post-Fire Hazards with Machine Learning
  Stewart Wilson, G. Andrew Fricker, Aakash Ahamed, Jonathan Ventura, Paige Davis, Sanjana Checker — Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences
• The Human Touch Meets Machine Intelligence: Exploring AI’s Role in the Future of Experience Management
  Ye (Sandy) Shen — Food and Environmental Sciences, Experience Industry Management

College of Engineering (CENG)

• Advancing Supply Chain Resilience through AI-Powered Intelligent Supply Chain Digital Twins (iSCDT)
  Mohamed Awwad, Zack Kramer — Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering
• AI for Search and Rescue (Student Project)
  Vansanth Pugalenthi — Computer Science
• AI-Driven Agentic Framework for Engineering Lab Learning
  Franz Kurfess — Computer Science & Software Engineering
• A Reinforcement Learning Framework for Multi-Scenario Autonomous Parking
  Ria Kanjilal, Ravi Panchal — Computer Engineering
• Agentic AI in the Experience Industry: A Cross-Disciplinary Prototype
  Brian Greenwood, Sandy Shen, Pei Zhang, Rodrigo Canaan, Kevin Lin — Experience Industry Management; Computer Science
• Ask the Catalog: An AI Copilot for Graduate Advising
  Siavash Farzan — Electrical Engineering
• Development of a Sensing System Coupled with Deployable Machine Learning Models for Prosthetic Applications
  Long Wang — Engineering
• Empowering Experiential Learning through an AI-Driven Agentic Design Framework for Engineering Labs
  Franz Kurfess, Jenny Wang, Paris Kalathas — Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Enhancing U.S. Green Card Wait Time Prediction: A Hybrid Framework Integrating Machine Learning and a Real-Time Prediction Application
  Joydeep Mukherjee, Puneet Agarwal, Gavin Lynch, Sofia Emilia Morris — Computer Science & Software Engineering; Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering
• Explainable Machine Learning for Partial Differential Equations
  Amuthan A. Ramabathiran — Aerospace Engineering
• Green Chat
  Maximilian Dauner, Franz Kurfess — Noyce School of Applied Computing
• Humanity Compatible: Kantian LLM Value Alignment
  Quinn Potter, Ava Thomas Wright — Noyce School of Applied Computing
• IntelliSAR: Applying Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Search and Rescue Operations
  Franz Kurfess, Paris Kalathas, Gary Bloom, Chris Young — Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Machine Unlearning: The Right to Be Forgotten
  Dongfeng Fang, Colin Ngo — Computer Science & Software Engineering; Computer Engineering
• Predicting Force Chains in Granular Materials Using Graph Neural Networks
  Eric Ocegueda, Sean Oxenhorn — Mechanical Engineering
• Real-Time Marker-less 2D and 3D Hand Tracking for Intuitive Robotic Arm Control
  Behnam Ghalamchi, Dylan Featherson — Mechanical Engineering
• Recommending the Right Academic Programs at Cal Poly: An AI-Based Interest Mining Approach
  Alessandro Hill, Puneet Agarwal — Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering
• Session Scout: An AI-Based Personalized Decision Support System for Conference Session Selection
  Puneet Agarwal, Alessandro Hill — Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering
• Shark Spotting: Real-Time On-Board Object Detection with Drones
  Franz Kurfess — Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Supporting Appropriate AI Reliance through Goal Setting and Goal Priming
  Hyeonik Song — Mechanical Engineering
• Using AI Tools for Electronic Test and Measurement Instrument Programming
  Dennis Derickson — Electrical Engineering

College of Liberal Arts (CLA)

• A Case Study of ChatGPT’s Rollout in the CSU System
  Marshall Piros, Kaylie Marrs, Aubrie Adams — Communication Studies
• Food Is Fundamental: The Profound Ethical and Social Impacts of Robot Kitchens
  Patrick Lin, Daniel Story, Ryan Jenkins — Philosophy
• From Execution to Strategy: How Gen AI Is Reshaping the Work and Thought Processes of UX Designers
  Christine Lee, Michal Strahilevitz — Graphic Communication
• Scribere Aude (with AI!): Teaching and Learning How to Use Generative AI for Argumentative Essay Writing
  Jacob Sparks, Ava Wright, Daniel Story, Dianna Winslow — Philosophy
• Synchronizing Social Science and Artificial Intelligence [AI]
  Carmen Navarro — Communication Studies
• Teaching Sociology in the Era of Generative AI
  Jess Lee, Martin Jacinto (Chico State) — Social Sciences

Orfalea College of Business (OCOB)

• Co-Working with AI: Understanding the Psychological Drivers and Technostress Dynamics in Generative AI Use at Work
  Yongcheng Zhan, Leida Chen — Management, HR, and Information Systems
• Empathetic AI Encounters: Pathways to Prosocial Behavior
  Miranda Yin — Marketing
• Teaching Finance Through Generative AI
  Mahdi Rastad — Finance
• Technology Students’ Reflections on AI Awareness & Literacy Through Formal and Informal Learning Interactions
  Ashish Hingle — Management, HR, and Information Systems
• When GenAI Floods the Feed, Human Voice Pays
  Bingyi Wu, Yongcheng Zhan, Leida Chen — Management, HR, and Information Systems

Contact

For questions, please contact academicaffairs@calpoly.edu.