UB’s AI Institute for Exceptional Education held its kickoff retreat April 11-13 on the North Campus. Created in January with a $20 million National Science Foundation grant, the institute is developing artificial intelligence systems that identify and assist young children with speech and/or language processing challenges. The retreat, led by principal investigator Venu Govindaraju, UB vice president for research and economic development, brought together dozens of researchers from nine universities, including UB. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki