Faculty, staff, students and partners from across Ohio State gathered Sept. 9 at the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center for the 2026 TDAI Fall Research Kickoff.

The event highlighted TDAI’s continued growth, with its community now including 611 faculty members and affiliates representing all 15 Ohio State colleges and more than 100 disciplines. Research involving TDAI faculty has also secured more than $437 million in funding since 2017.

A major focus of the evening was the introduction of TDAI’s two new BIG Ideas Research Themes, which will bring together interdisciplinary teams through January 2028:

• “Rethinking Public Opinion and Social Measurement in the Age of AI,” led by Ryan Kennedy, professor of political science and TDAI faculty fellow; and
• “From the Ground Up: Data to Models for Environmentally-Driven Zoonotic Disease,” led by Andrew Perrault, assistant professor of computer science and engineering and TDAI faculty fellow.

Attendees also welcomed TDAI’s inaugural AI and Data Science Graduate Fellows, Andrew Engel and Luči Krnic, and learned about upcoming research programs, training opportunities and industry partnership efforts.

The evening concluded with networking and conversation, setting the stage for another year of interdisciplinary research and collaboration across Ohio State.