Clark University announces inaugural AI Innovation Grants: eight projects that turn ideas into working systems
Clark University has named the first recipients of its AI Innovation Grants, a program funded by a $50,000 gift from the Yee Family, including Trustee Brian Yee '93. The grants back practical projects that apply artificial intelligence in teaching, research, operations, and student life.
"These grants aim to foster a deeper understanding of AI and its potential as a tool to advance our academic mission, improve institutional effectiveness, and enhance the way we work with each other or with members of the Worcester community," wrote President David Fithian and Provost John Magee in a campuswide announcement.
A selection committee of Vice President for Information Technology Joseph Kalinowski, President David Fithian, Dean of Research Jennifer Hanselman, and Professor Kat Andler reviewed 59 applications and selected eight. Awardees span undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff across Computer Science, Political Science, Psychology, the Graduate School of Geography, and the Becker School of Design & Technology. Projects will conclude by August 2026, with results shared with the Clark community.
Why this matters for IT, data, and research
This cohort is building things you can ship: local-model game NPCs, autonomous land-change analytics, a Socratic tutor that exposes dark patterns, meta-prompting for media, accessible scientific summaries, localized speech tech, computer vision for sustainability, and faculty enablement at scale.
Key throughlines: use local models where privacy and control matter, automate high-volume analysis with agent orchestration, design for explainability and user agency, and pair technical work with education so adoption sticks.
Funded projects
- Lauren Gallagher '26, MFA '27 (BSDT) - Intelligent NPCs: Exploring Generative AI for Adaptive Character Design in Game Development
Most NPCs feel static. Gallagher connects an Unreal Engine prototype to Ollama to run local language models that respond to player context and game state. The aim is believable interactions without external APIs, tighter latency control, and safer data handling. - Antonio Galvao da Fonseca (Ph.D., Geography) and Professor Robert "Gil" Pontius - Scaling Land Cover Change Analysis: Agentic AI for Global Environmental Monitoring
Land-change data spans petabytes, yet most analysis stays regional. Building on a method that decomposes temporal changes into five components, this project uses agentic workflows to process millions of pixels, compute change metrics, and auto-generate visualizations with minimal human touch. Expect reproducible pipelines that move from weeks of work to hours. - Professor Hyungsin Kim (Computer Science) - SocraTalk: Learning by Doing, Reflecting by Design - Using Socratic AI to Unmask Dark Patterns
Students will interact with a simulated app that includes infinite scroll, pre-selected defaults, and social proof cues. A Socratic-style AI guides reflection so learners can spot interface manipulation, articulate what they feel, and choose differently. The team will design, implement, and evaluate the environment to measure changes in awareness and decision quality. - Professor Shuo Niu (Computer Science); Jimin Lee (Ph.D., Psychology); Torin Anderson '27 (CS) - Developing and Teaching Meta-Prompting for Media Production
The team will build a tool for meta-prompting-structural and syntactical patterns that steer GenAI in creating short-form educational videos. Work includes specifying meta-information (e.g., pacing, shot lists, visual anchors, tone) and teaching students to apply it. The outcome is a framework educators can reuse to turn lecture material into clear, concise video explanations. - Abraham Rahman '27; Preeti Bachu '26; Professor Michael Miller (Psychology) - AI-Generated Summaries of Complex Scientific Articles: Supporting Emotion Regulation in ADHD Readers
Building on prior research, this study tests how summary design affects frustration, attention shifts, and follow-through for readers with ADHD. The team will quantify what works-chunking, readability targets, supportive prompts-and feed those findings into better summary templates. Collaborators include Skyler Koba (Penn State) and Steve Wilson (University of Michigan-Flint). - Onyx Rothman '26 (Political Science) - Bridging the Digital Divide: Developing Inclusive AI Transcription Technology for Worcester's Diverse Communities
General transcription models miss dialect and local nuance, which leads to misrepresentation. Expanding on the TranscribeWell platform, this project trains a specialized model on Worcester's linguistic diversity, with emphasis on the city's Ghanaian communities. The goal is better accuracy, dignity in representation, and a proof point that localized training is feasible. - Sarina Talerico '27; Solan Homestead '27 (Computer Science) - AI Trashcan Sorter: AI in Improving Sustainability and Waste Management at Clark University
Mis-sorted items contaminate recycling and compost streams. This project builds a computer-vision sorter with sensors and a routing mechanism to classify items and guide disposal in the moment. Beyond immediate impact, the system will collect data on waste patterns to inform campus operations. - Evan Wilson (Associate Dean of the College); Laurie Ross (Dean of the College); Mark Jacobs (Professor, Master's in AI); CETAL Steering Committee - Supporting Faculty to Better Understand and Utilize Artificial Intelligence for Teaching and Learning
A workshop series will help faculty use AI to enhance relationships, creativity, and critical thinking in the classroom. The team will focus on practical use cases, ethics, and policy so instructors can prepare students for AI-literate careers. Sessions begin in spring and summer 2026.
What to watch
Expect open demos, sharable methods, and campus pilots through 2026. If you're building similar capabilities-especially around prompt strategy for media-this curated set of resources on prompt engineering can help you move faster with fewer mistakes.
Your membership also unlocks:
