Sophie Nowicki, PhD
SUNY Empire Innovation Professor of Geology, College of Arts and Sciences
Nowicki is an expert on ice sheet modeling and sea level rise prediction. She focuses on AI-driven modeling of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, their climate connections and sea level impacts. As leader of UB’s Ice and Sea Level Lab and core faculty at the RENEW Institute, her work supports global efforts to forecast sea level rise and climate change effects.
Margarete Jadamec, PhD
associate professor, College of Arts and Sciences
Margarete Jadamec, an expert on geodynamics, creates data-driven AI models to understand Earth’s subduction systems, with an emphasis on the geodynamics governing plate and mantle deformation. She leads the Geodynamics and Visualization Lab, studying slab-driven mantle flow, plate tectonics and the Pacific Ring of Fire. Margarete Jadamec specializes in geodynamics and data-driven AI models to study Earth’s subduction systems. She leads the Geodynamics and Visualization Lab, focusing on slab-driven mantle flow, plate tectonics and the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Yingjie Hu, PhD
associate professor, Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences
Yingjie Hu leads the GeoAI Lab@UB, specializing in geospatial AI, GIS and disaster management. His research integrates geospatial data and AI to study human-environment interactions and address natural disaster challenges.
Kang Sun, PhD
assistant professor of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Kang Sun specializes in climate change and air pollution, integrating AI to measure atmospheric pollutants and predict air quality impacts. A core faculty member of UB’s (RENEW) Institute, he leads a team using observations, satellite data and modeling to advance understanding of pollution and climate. Sun received a 2024 NSF CAREER Award to develop open-source AI maps tracking air pollution and emissions.
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An early pioneer in AI research, UB currently has more than 400 faculty researchers working at the cutting edge of the technology to solve society’s greatest challenges. And now, as home to Empire AI—New York State’s $500 million, public-private consortium—we’re poised to realize AI for good.