In April 2024, Dr. Venu Govindaraju, UB's vice president for research and economic development, moderated a conversation with Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation. During this event, they discussed UB's integral role in leading the region and state in AI innovation, AI's tranformation of the workforce and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in AI research. 

While at UB, Dr. Panchanathan participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for UB's new National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, which is funded by a $20 million grant from the NSF. He also joined a number of UB faculty and students, who are conducting NSF-funded research, to learn more about their pioneering work.