Jointly sponsored by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, this year’s SOC Research Day centered on the theme, “Computing and AI in Biomedical Research and Practice,” reflecting UGA’s expanding investment in health-related fields, including the launch of its medical and nursing schools. The event highlighted how advances in computing are shaping the future of patient care, medical research, and clinical decision-making.

Keynote speaker Dr. Xiong Li of Emory University presented her group’s cutting-edge work on privacy-preserving machine learning, an area critical to ensuring that artificial intelligence can be safely and effectively used in medical settings.

The program opened with remarks from SOC director Gagan Agrawal, Franklin Dean Anna Stenport, and Orso, all emphasizing the growing intersection of computing and healthcare at UGA.

Continuing a tradition introduced last year, the school recognized Ph.D. students who were primary authors of papers accepted at highly ranked venues. The number of honorees rose from four in 2025 to 11 this year, signaling strong research momentum within the doctoral program.

Following the keynote, a panel discussion on “New Frontiers in Computing and AI for Biomedical Research and Practice,” moderated by Professor Suchi Bhandarkar, brought together experts Kannan Natarajan, Eugene Douglass, Fei Dou, and Li to explore emerging challenges and opportunities in the field.

The event concluded with two longstanding traditions: a computing trivia competition and student poster presentations, showcasing the breadth of student research.