AI AND SOCIETY: RESEARCH, TESTIMONY, AND LEADERSHIP Dr. Manjeet Rege is shaping Minnesota’s AI response through research and policy. His report found that 813,000 Minnesota workers face high exposure to generative AI, and he testified before the Minnesota Senate Labor Committee on balancing worker protection with innovation. His book, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence, grounds this work in principles for responsible AI development. AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE Dr. Chong Xu is developing robotic platforms for individualized horticultural care — including targeted drip irrigation, mechanical weed removal, and on-demand fertilization — to reduce the environmental hazards of conventional agriculture. EXAMINING SOCIAL MEDIA: IMPACT ON YOUTH Dr. John Chandler served as an expert witness in two high-profile cases against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, explaining how social media advertising works and assessing whether platforms prioritized revenue over user safety. He also used statistical models to estimate platform revenues from youth users during the class period.
Dr. Chong Xu
Dr. John Chandler
THE INNOVATOR’S MINDSET Dr. Kundan Nepal focuses on the future of engineering. Nepal has increased partnerships in a way that touches student innovators, clean-tech entrepreneurs and national research partners through his roles as the director of the St. Thomas Applied and Renewable Technologies (START) Center and head of the New Product Tech Ventures (NPTV) Fellowship Program.
Dr. Kundan Nepal
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