快盈v3

A new graduate program will be available at the 快盈v3 College of Engineering (CoEng) in the fall 2025 semester: the Master of Science in artificial intelligence, data science, and engineering. 

The new program is the result of efforts by three CoEng faculty members: Masoumeh Heidari Kapourchali, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and computer systems engineering; Caixia Wang, Ph.D., professor of geomatics, and Mohammad Heidari Kapourchali, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical engineering.. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to have this launch as early as possible,鈥� explained Wang. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to launch it and get students enrolled. We should have the first cohort in fall 2025.鈥�

While other 快盈v3 programs have integrated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) into the curriculum, this program will focus on creating AI models. 鈥淲hat we cover in this program is teaching them how to develop models, not just using it,鈥� said Masoumeh. 

According to Masoumeh, students in the graduate program will learn how to 鈥渂uild their own models for their own applications,鈥� as well as the programming and technical skills to build custom models. 

A program for diverse academic backgrounds

The instructors intend for graduate students joining the program to come from a diverse set of academic backgrounds 鈥� not just computer science. The faculty members envision the program accepting students from academic backgrounds like science and business in addition to engineering. 

鈥淸The program] is open to everyone with every background to learn how to build their own models for their own applications,鈥� Masoumeh explained. 鈥淲e'll have a course in fundamentals of data science and engineering that would cover things like coding and basic mathematics or statistics that they will need to write a program.鈥�

The graduate program will only require one mathematics course in the core courses: STAT A611 General Statistics for Data Science, making it more available to those without a heavy mathematics background. This course, along with ES A603 Fundamentals of Data Science and Engineering, form the two out of five core courses for the program.

鈥淲e included these two courses as the core courses because we wanted to make it easier for students to get up to speed,鈥� said Mohammad. 

Even within engineering, the program itself has an interdisciplinary approach, with the three faculty members coming from different CoEng departments. 鈥淭he three departments put together this program [because] we feel like the engineering disciplines are overlapping now,鈥� said Mohammad. 鈥淪o if you're doing research in AI [...] the opportunities are really at these intersections. That's how we saw it.鈥� 

Addressing issues facing Alaska

The faculty members believe the master鈥檚 program will provide students with the skill sets to tackle real-world problems facing Alaska, from energy infrastructure to health care to climate change. 

鈥淗ow cool would it be if we could develop algorithms and build AI models and then apply [them] to some applications that can really help the state?鈥� asked Mohammad. 

Reflecting on the , which resulted in power outages in different parts of Alaska, Mohammad said that the program鈥檚 use of AI could help 鈥渜uantify the risk of wildfires鈥� and 鈥渋mprove the resilience of the state when it comes to natural hazards.鈥�

Better understanding natural hazards like wildfires will require AI models to analyze new sets of big data. Wang, chair of the CoEng Department of Geomatics, believes applications in the field of geospatial AI will be able to make use of new forms of data. 鈥淚t is going to be very helpful for Alaska, since we have lots of images captured by satellite and now by drone,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淗ow are you going to use that data 鈥� that鈥檚 math, that鈥檚 vast data 鈥� to answer those questions?鈥� 

In addition to a comprehensive exam option, the master鈥檚 program will offer both a thesis option and a project option for students to develop their own real-world projects. The faculty members intend to help students collaborate with the community to find meaningful projects along with funding sources for their research. 

鈥淭he goal is to come sit together and see what the current issues are that are unique to Alaska,鈥� said Masoumeh. 鈥淭hat can be an opportunity to collaborate with the local communities in order to see how AI can be applied in different disciplines in different areas. These can all be opportunities for our students to be involved in projects that are important for the state.鈥�