The Ken Kennedy Institute hosts several lecture series throughout the academic year. Each of these series has a specific focus. Distinguished guests are invited to present talks that allow for both discussion, networking, and an opportunity to hear from top researchers, executives, and leaders from around the globe.

• Ken Kennedy Institute Distinguished Lecture Series brings leaders in the field of computing and data science from both academia and industry to Rice to speak about the impact of their work.

• Ken Kennedy Institute AI in Industry Seminar Series brings industry professionals to Rice to speak about the impact of their work related to Artificial Intelligence.

• Ken Kennedy Institute Technology Lecture Series brings in faculty to Rice to speak about the impact of their work.

• Ken Kennedy Institute Member Luncheons are held monthly for members during the academic semesters. The purpose of these luncheons is to provide a space where Rice faculty members can network with colleagues, explore opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and provide a platform to promote the research interests of our members. Ken Kennedy Institute Member Luncheons are exclusively for members only.

• Ken Kennedy Institute AI Forums provide a space where Rice students, postdocs, and faculty members can network with colleagues, explore opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and provide a platform to promote the research interests of our members. Each month, members of the Ken Kennedy Institute are invited to prepare a short presentation. The speakers share their background and give an overview about their field and research interests. Ken Kennedy leadership also provides an update of ongoing activities at this time.

• Technology Innovation Lecture Series is sponsored jointly by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Ken Kennedy Institute.

• Technology, Culture, and Society Lecture Series is organized by the Technology, Culture, and Society Initiative and co-sponsored by the Ken Kennedy Institute. This series focuses on social, political, and legal issues that have emerged from the information revolution that touches most aspects of our daily lives.

• Generative AI Coast to Coast Webinar Series brings together speakers from peer institutions to discuss Generative AI in research with the larger goal of fostering a broad community of cross-institutional and interdisciplinary researchers, and building research ideas and collaboration. View website here.

  • Participating Institutions: Johns Hopkins University; the Ohio State University; Rice University; the International Computer Science Institute, an Affiliated Institute of University of California, Berkeley; University of Michigan; and the University of Washington.

• Data Science Coast to Coast Lecture Series is hosted jointly by seven academic data science institutes and provides a unique opportunity to foster a broad-reaching data science community. Speakers include important figures in data science who will provide insight on the transformative use of data science in traditional research disciplines, future breakthroughs in data science research, data science entrepreneurship, and advocacy and national policies for a data-enabled and just society. The series will also include faculty members and postdoctoral fellows at the seven host universities whose research spans the theory and methodology of data science, and their application in arts and humanities, engineering, biomedical, natural, physical and social sciences.

  • Hosted by: Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science at John Hopkins, NYU Center for Data Science, Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University, Stanford Data Science, Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Michigan Institute for Data Science, and the eScience Institute at University of Washington.