Advancing AI Infrastructure for Large Astronomy Datasets
2 PM - 3:30 PM MST, Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
Location: Phoenix, AZ.
The recent revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), together with technical advances in telescopes and computing, has opened new frontiers for astronomy data processing and analysis. Meanwhile, open, rich, massive datasets are the lifeblood of AI innovation. In the current big-data era of astronomy, new facilities such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are generating a firehose of data. Planned facility upgrades, such as the next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), will routinely yield datasets containing 1 trillion voxels, exceeding current processing capacity and requiring new AI developments.
This special session will:
Explore how AI tools will interact with current and forthcoming surveys to accelerate astronomy research workflows.
Highlight recent AI applications for analysis of big datasets;
Provide an overview of the activities and plans of the NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (CosmicAI) and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI);
Solicit community feedback on AI applications to astronomy data: outstanding opportunities, community goals, and pressing needs.
Format:
50 minutes of talks highlighting AI applications to large observational datasets
20-minute panel discussion of the first year of CosmicAI and SkAI activities and their future plans, led by members of these institutes
20-minute moderated audience Q&A and discussion of community needs and opportunities
Speakers for Invited Talks (50 mins)
Josh Peak (StscI)
Ashley Villar (Harvard)
Risa Wechsler (Stanford)
Francois Lanusse (CNRS)
CosmicAI+SkAI Updates + Panel (20 mins)
Bryan Nord (Fermilab, SkAI)
Brian Mason (NRAO, CosmicAI)
Gautham Narayan (U. of Illinois, SkAI)
Stephanie Juneau (UVA, CosmicAI)
Brian Kent (NRAO, CosmicAI)
Moderator: Stella Offner (UT Austin)
Panel Q&A with Audience (20 min)