Blue Turf Thinkers Honor Boise State Engineers Leading AI and Cyber Research for Idaho and Beyond

Blue Turf Thinkers: Boise State Engineering Puts AI to Work for Idaho

At each Boise State home game, "Blue Turf Thinkers" spotlights groups turning ideas into results on the Blue Turf. This time, faculty from Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the new School of Computing were recognized for advancing artificial intelligence in Idaho and beyond. It's a concrete example of mission translating into action: innovation, collaboration and service that lead to measurable outcomes.

In an era of fast tech cycles, these teams are building new knowledge that shows up in the field-supporting local industry, informing policy and pushing research forward.

What's new in computing at Boise State

The School of Computing, established in 2024, expands computing education across disciplines and now houses the university's fastest-growing doctoral program. This structure creates clearer pathways for cross-department research and shared infrastructure.

This fall, the College of Engineering launched its tenth undergraduate degree, allowing students to specialize in generative AI, computer vision and machine learning. The goal is practical fluency: graduates who can contribute to research labs and production systems on day one.

Strategic wins accelerating capability

• Responsible AI talent pipeline: Faculty secured a National Science Foundation grant to lead graduate training in responsible AI, emphasizing ethical, human-centered methods and evaluation. This aligns with guidance such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework for risk-aware deployment.
• Campus-wide AI infrastructure: Investments are scaling compute and data resources to support work on language models, efficiency in integrated circuits and other high-impact areas.
• Cyber research excellence: Boise State gained designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research, signaling national-level rigor and strengthening ties between AI and secure computing. Learn more about the program on the NSA CAE site.
• Rare triple credential: One of only seven universities nationwide with GenCyber, CyberCorps Scholarship for Service, and Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy designations-and the only such institution in Idaho.

Why this matters for scientists and research leaders

• Ethics embedded in practice: Training and evaluation frameworks ensure algorithms meet human-centered, safety and accountability goals.
• Stronger research throughput: Shared infrastructure shortens the path from idea to prototype across LLMs, computer vision, ML systems and efficient hardware.
• Security by default: Cyber research excellence couples AI innovation with secure architectures and threat-informed design.
• Talent you can hire: Degree programs aligned to industry needs feed labs and companies with contributors who understand both theory and deployment constraints.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: The School of Computing connects engineering, data science and application domains for applied projects and joint grants.

From concept to impact

Faculty are building adaptive, human-centered algorithms and a reliable talent pipeline that serves Idaho's research ecosystem. The focus is clear: equip students for real problems, work across disciplines and steward innovation responsibly.

If your team is expanding AI capability, you can benchmark skills and training paths using curated resources by job role at Complete AI Training.