The Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence recently hosted close to a hundred graduate students and researchers for an afternoon of sharing ideas, socializing and collaborating as part of its inaugural Student/Researcher UnConference.

The AI Lab, located at 41 William St., was launched in fall 2024 with the goal to support and expand AI research on campus. Over the past several months, it has hosted numerous workshops, talks and other events intended to foster AI research, especially cross-disciplinary collaborations.

The “unconference” format was intended to create a casual gathering where participants would have the opportunity to set the agenda, said Olga Russakovsky, associate director of the AI Lab.

“At Princeton, we have so many bright young scholars working on artificial intelligence,” said Russakovsky, who is also an associate professor of computer science. “We wanted to provide an environment where they could come together in an informal setting to share their research and connect across disciplines.”

This opportunity to meet other students across different departments was a highlight of the event for Allison Chen, a graduate student in computer science.

“I really enjoyed getting a better idea of what other people on campus are working on across campus,” she said.

Veniamin Veselovsky, a graduate student in computer science, was among about a dozen students and researchers who opted to give 15-minute spotlight talks on their work. He said he enjoyed the opportunity to receive new feedback on his project, while learning how others are using AI as part of their research.

Between spotlight talks and brainstorming sessions, the event also featured games, contests and other activities designed to break the ice and encourage networking among graduate students and researchers.

“The format was more conducive to casual interactions,” Veselovsky said. 

While the event was largely student-driven, several faculty members attended. Matthew Salganik, a professor in the sociology department, said he enjoyed the opportunity to connect with researchers in other departments.

“Interesting work on AI is happening all over campus, and I always love the chance to find out more about what other people are working on,” he said afterwards. “I left with some new ideas about my own research and a potential new collaborator.”

Vikram V. Ramaswamy, a lecturer in computer science who also attended, said he chatted with students curious about his research, and some also shared their latest projects and future plans.

“It was awesome to see the number of students excited and participating in the event,” he said.

Hongyu Hè, a graduate student in electrical engineering, said during the event’s reception that he was excited about the connections he made with other students, some of which may lead to future research projects.

“The collaboration, for me, is very valuable,” he said.