Professor Michael Butros has been teaching physics and mathematics at Victor Valley College (VVC), a Hispanic-serving institute, since 2000. His passion for mathematics and enthusiasm to explore all educational opportunities landed him a spot as a participant in the first cohort of the AI4OPT Faculty Training Program.

The program held at both Georgia Tech and Clark Atlanta University sites, in June, consisted of faculty members from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI’s) from states including Georgia, California, Texas and Virginia. The three-year program is comprised of courses in artificial intelligence (AI), data science and course design. For Butros, the opportunity has proven to be both useful and beneficial.

“There were people who had Ph.D.’s in computer science and people like me, who had never done any data science or computer programming in Python or Acorn RISC Machine,” said Butros. “Everything was great, and everyone was willing to help each other.”

The Goal of Faculty Training Program

The Faculty Training Program aims to establish a minor or major data science program for each of the participants’ home institutions. Each participant will then set up joint research projects with AI4OPT researchers at Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California to eventually host their own data science seminars and workshops.

“The training program not only benefits Georgia Tech. It’s a STEM pipeline for campus communities across the country,” said Pascal Van Hentenryck, director of the Faculty Training Program and AI4OPT. “This program creates a much more diverse and trusting environment, and we are trying to build this pipeline with various organizations, while also gaining the attention of bright-minded students. These students will become role models for other students and then they become faculty. We are fostering this virtuous cycle.”

Before Butros retires from VVC, he plans to be further that cycle of STEM programs by applying for Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics), and also create a culture of data science research for undergraduate students at VVC.

“A lot of the student I deal with are going into engineering, pre-med and computer science. Nowadays it’s very difficult if you don’t have any research under your belt,” said Butros. “It’s going to be very difficult to expose our students to the latest technology, but we’re trying and that is why programs like the Faculty Training Program are a shining light for us because they are willing to share their facilities and resources.”

About AI4OPT Faulty Training Program

The AI4OPT Faulty Training Program is the brainchild of AI4OPT Director, Pascal Van Hentenryck, A. Russell Chandler III Chair and professor in Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) and Dr. Charles Pierre, a professor in the Mathematical Sciences Department at Clark Atlanta University and Advisory Committee Interim Chair. Participants of the program are hosted at Georgia Tech and Clark Atlanta University for the first four weeks where Pierre and his team provide training while AI4OPT researchers visit, give research talks and make connections. After the visit to Georgia Tech, the participants will continue training online for another four weeks to complete the first course. The multi-year collaboration will ultimately give participant basis to start AI and data science programs at their colleges and universities.

For general information about the AI4OPT Faculty Training Program, contact Cami Douglass, AI4OPT executive assistant at 404-894-5953 or via email at camille.douglass@isye.gatech.edu.

About Victor Valley College

The Victor Valley Community College District (VVCCD) is one of 73 community college districts within the California Community College system, the largest educational system in the world, which encompasses 116 community colleges. The VVCCD has for 60 years provided its communities and students with quality and affordable career training, certificates, associate degrees and transfer preparation into four-year colleges or universities through Victor Valley College.

For additional information on the VVCCD, contact Robert Sewell, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at 760-245-4271, Ext. 2395 or via email at robert.sewell@vvc.edu.

To learn more about the AI Institute for Advances in Optimization, visit www.ai4opt.org.

(Writer’s note: This article is part of a series highlighting AI4OPT members, students, education programs and professional development testimonies.