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Howard University Announces Record $122 Million in Annual Research Funding; Creating New Opportunities for Students & Faculty

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2 years ago

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In 2018, Howard University announced a goal of raising $100 million in grants and contracts for research by 2024. Today, Howard surpassed  that goal two years early by raising $122 million in Fiscal Year 2022, a record sum for any Historically Black College or University (HBCU). 

“Research and academic excellence has always been part of Howard’s identity. We have supported hundreds of leading researchers across disciplines, furthering our collective understanding of the world around us and producing research that has changed the world,” said President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA. “With our new approach to research funding, we are creating more opportunities for leading Black scholars today, while training the next generation of leaders.” 

In 2018, President Frederick relaunched Howard’s Office of Research and recruited Dr. Bruce Jones, Ph.D. to lead the effort. Under Dr. Jones’ leadership, Howard has led a research revolution on campus. From 2017 to 2021, Howard increased output of research proposals by more than 37 percent and funding increased 175 percent from 2008 to 2022. Unlike donations or gifts, research grants and contracts are based on professors and students submitting proposals and being awarded project-specific funding. 

“The breadth and scope of the research coming out of Howard University is nothing short of astounding,” said Howard Vice President for Research Dr. Bruce Jones, Ph.D. “With this added funding, the research capacity of the university will be accelerated, allowing us to continue to conduct cutting-edge research on a larger scale commensurate with Howard University’s institutional mission: to forward the development of scholars and professionals who drive change.”

Historically, Black academics and institutions have not received funding commensurate with the needs of Black communities. HBCUs, like Howard, have always had to do more, with less. A 2019 report found that HBCUs are awarded less research funding than non-HBCUs with similar research programs. 

When fewer resources are dedicated to Black scholars and their research, the health, social and economic effects of these systemic funding gaps ripple across Black communities that would be most impacted by their research, and students have fewer opportunities to get experience needed to jump-start their careers.

With this influx of funding, Howard University is on track to becoming an R1 Research University in the coming years, a recognition awarded to the top 3.5 percent of research universities. No other HBCUs currently have R1 status. Obtaining R1 status would further increase cutting-edge research and opportunities at the University.

To increase funding through grants and contracts, Howard has: 

  • Improved collaboration and partnerships with the corporate and philanthropic communities;
  • Expanded joint programs with peer institutions of higher education and other HBCUs;
  • Increased the scope of participation from colleges and schools on campus in the grant and contract enterprise, and the number of interdisciplinary research proposal submissions; 
  • Installed a grant and contract data-monitoring and tracking system; 
  • Substantially increased research training opportunities for faculty and students; 
  • Embarked on significant renovation of research facilities; 
  • Systematically worked to advance a campus-wide research-focused culture to benefit all faculty and all students and more. 

With these strides, Howard University is on pace to raise over $100 million year-over-year, providing more support for facilities, faculty and postdoctoral capacity, scholarships, fellowships and other investments that will foster the next generation of Howard-led innovation and enhance the Howard experience for students. Recent research accomplishments include: 

  • Last month, the University announced new plans to further its genomics and genetics work through a recent grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. 
  • Through a $250,000 grant awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, researchers will study how digital manipulation and disinformation on social media affects Black and marginalized communities, specifically those surrounding Washington, D.C. 
  • The Department of Defense awarded the College of Engineering and Architecture a five-year,  $7.5 million award to create a Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, known as CoE-AIML. Howard will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in vital civilian applications and multidomain operations.
  • A team led by Professor Nikki Taylor was awarded a $5,000,000 multi-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its Just Futures Initiative, which is dedicated to combating injustice, racism, inequality and more.
  • Professor and Economics Department Chair Omari Swinton was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance the teaching and educational training of Black and other minority students pursuing degrees in economics. Dr. Swinton is also the recipient of a $2.7 million National Science Foundation Award to host the American economic association summer training program. 

For more information on the Howard Forward strategic plan and its measured outcomes, please visit https://strategicplan.howard.edu/. 



 


 





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Artificial Intelligence


CleverTap launches Clever.AI, the AI-Driven Edge for Customer Engagement & Retention





 






Published
 2 hours ago 
on
 May 3, 2024





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Clever.AI will help brands achieve 66% higher conversion rates and 35% boost in operational efficiency

SAN FRANCISCO and MUMBAI, India, May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — CleverTap, one of the leading all-in-one customer engagement and retention platforms, today announced the launch of Clever.AI, its AI engine. With Clever.AI, CleverTap seeks to enable brands with the next generation of AI capabilities required to build human-like understanding of customers and deliver personalized experiences efficiently that resonate with them, ultimately maximizing customer lifetime value.


Clever.AI is built on the foundation of three core AI pillars – Predictive, Generative, and Prescriptive. Clever.AI propels these three pillars to transform the way brands engage with customers and make customer interactions more intelligent, and efficient.

Clever.AI enables brands to become:

Insightful: With Predictive AI capabilities, it forecasts precise business outcomes, helping brands to anticipate customer needs. Clever.AI’s insights are powered by CleverTap’s proprietary TesseractDB™ which ensures data granularity with an extended lookback period, making predictions more accurate, and enabling brands to make informed decisions, resulting in improved marketing ROIEmpathetic: Taking GenAI forward, Clever.AI merges creativity with emotional intelligence, crafting content that resonates on a human level. This empathetic approach helps brands drive higher conversions and engages customers with hyper-personalized experiencesActionable: Leveraging Prescriptive AI capabilities, it provides actionable recommendations to maximize conversions throughout the customer journey by helping brands identify the optimal engagement strategies in real-timePeter Takacs, Digital Product Manager, Burger King said, “I would rate it 10 for its ease of use and numerous possible use cases. We uplifted our marketing campaigns by easily experimenting with multiple possibilities and quickly converging on the optimum one. It opens up a new era of continuous experimentation for us.”

Anand Jain, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, CleverTap said, “We’re thrilled to unveil Clever.AI, a testament of our pursuit over the last several years in leading the way in adopting the latest tech to transform customer engagement. We will continue to innovate CleverTap’s All-in-One engagement platform with Clever.AI enhancing its precision in predictions, its ability to prescribe intelligent customer experiences strengthened by advanced product analytics and deeper persona profiling to ensure brands can build highly personalized experiences, and campaigns more effectively, ensuring every customer interaction is personalized and outcome driven.”

With Clever.AI, brands have already experienced a boost in conversion with significantly higher operational efficiency. They witnessed a 66 percent increase in conversion rates, 35% boost in operational efficiency and a 3x improvement in click-through rates (CTRs), with an increase across metrics such as purchases, and average order values (AOVs). Moreover, Clever.AI enhanced operational efficiency by simplifying campaign roll-outs, content creation, and experimentation at scale. Clever.AI has helped leading brands like TouchnGo, Swiggy, Burger King add efficiency to their campaigns.

CleverTap will unveil its new AI capabilities through its Spring Release ’24 event slated from 6th May to 9th May, through a series of thought-provoking sessions on how AI can make campaigns more intelligent, efficient, and engaging for brands.

About CleverTap

CleverTap is the all-in-one engagement platform that helps brands unlock limitless customer lifetime value by helping them create personalized experiences to retain their most valuable customers. The platform empowers businesses to orchestrate experiences for individuals across their lifecycles and design personalized journeys that span a lifetime. It offers analytics that encompasses every aspect of the lifecycle, enabling businesses to measure and optimize each experience in real-time. Its unique AI capability is insightful, empathetic, and prescriptive, facilitating smarter and faster decisions. The all-in-one platform unifies experiences from every touchpoint, paving the way for a new era of customer engagement.

The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ – the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering both speed and economies of scale.

CleverTap is trusted by 2000 customers, including Electronic Arts, TiltingPoint, Gamebasics, Big Fish, MobilityWare, TED, English Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa John’s, and Tesco.

Backed by leading investors such as Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Accel, CDPQ, and 360 One, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with presence in New York, São Paulo, Bogota, London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh.

For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow us on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clevertap/X: https://twitter.com/CleverTap

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap’s belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release.

Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2404275/CleverTap_Logo.jpg


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Artificial Intelligence


Appian Named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Process Mining Platforms Report





 






Published
 4 hours ago 
on
 May 3, 2024





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LONDON, May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Appian (Nasdaq: APPN) today announced it has been named a Leader by Gartner in its 2024 Magic Quadrant for Process Mining Platforms report. The report evaluated 18 vendors and their product offerings. For more information, download a complimentary copy of the Gartner Process Mining 2024 report. 


Gartner defines Process Mining platforms as tools that deliver visibility and insights to technology innovation leaders that enable smart decision making and strong performance on an organisation’s critical priorities. Features that make Appian a leader in Process Mining, include:

Faster data prep that eliminates complex transformation with always-ready data from multiple sources.Automated process analysis and intelligent recommendations for where and how to take action.A low-code experience for measuring, monitoring, and optimising process performance—all within one platform.”We believe that Appian’s recognition in the Gartner Process Mining Platforms Magic Quadrant underscores our dedication to process excellence. Through Process HQ, we integrate data fabric, process mining, machine learning, and generative AI to streamline manual data prep, enabling businesses to gain insights swiftly and implement improvements easily,” said Michael Beckley, CTO and Founder of Appian. “Our unified approach merges Process Mining with AI-driven process automation, setting a new standard for efficiency and intelligence.”

Business users need greater visibility into the full breadth of their enterprise data and processes in order to maximise operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. By combining the latest technologies in data fabric, process mining, machine learning, and generative AI, Process HQ helps monitor and improve every business process built on Appian. Process HQ makes it easy to reduce costs, risks, and delays, improve compliance, and drive better business outcomes, without the need for costly and time-consuming data collection efforts.

Appian is now an industry leader across its value proposition to Design, Automate, and Optimise the most complex business processes. In addition to today’s announcement, Appian was named a Leader in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms report, and was ranked #1 for the Business Workflow Automation with Integration Use Case in the 2023 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms (LCAP) report.

To access the report and to learn more about Appian’s positioning, visit https://ap.pn/3y2ClZy. Register for our upcoming webinar Process Intelligence Made Easy: The Key to Better Business Decisions on June 20, 2024 at 12pm EST to discover how Process HQ can improve business processes.

Gartner disclaimerGartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner research organisation and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About Appian

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI Process Platform includes everything you need to design, automate, and optimise even the most complex processes, from start to finish. The world’s most innovative organisations trust Appian to improve their workflows, unify data, and optimise operations—resulting in better growth and superior customer experiences. For more information, visit appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN]

Follow Appian: LinkedIn, X, and X (UK).

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2403879/Appian_Garter_Gartner_MQ_ProcessMining.jpg

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1948800/Appian_400px_Blank_Logo.jpg


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Artificial Intelligence


Innodisk Introduces iCAP Air: Advancing Air Quality Management through Autonomous Decision-Making





 






Published
 6 hours ago 
on
 May 3, 2024





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TAIPEI, May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Innodisk, a global leader in AI solutions, has taken a pivotal step forward in environmental sustainability with the launch of its latest innovation, the “iCAP Air” air quality management solution. This solution empowers businesses worldwide to enhance air quality, sustainability, and human health. Additionally, business can benefit from monthly AI-generated air quality data report, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making.


Leveraging its expertise in edge computing and software and hardware integration, along with the expertise of its subsidiary Sysinno in air quality detection, Innodisk has achieved the development of the “iCAP Air” air quality management solution. This solution integrates advanced technology, including the innovative “iAeris7” air quality detector from Sysinno, to deliver accuracy in detecting temperature, humidity, fine suspended particles (PM2.5), suspended particles (PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2), formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). It can also be customized to detect NO2, SO2, CO, NH3, and other air factors. At the same time, the iAeris7 device is known for its reliability, patented technology, and various international certifications, including those from SGS and FCC/CE/RoHS/NCC/BSMI.

The solution also includes the “iCAP Air Server,” designed to manage large-scale deployment and data from up to 100 air quality detectors, ensuring seamless integration and efficient operation, even in complex environments. Additionally, iCAP Air provides a user-friendly air quality management platform, enabling organizations to monitor air quality in real-time via a mobile app or internet browser, receive automatic alerts, and optimize air purification or exhaust ventilation system.

iCAP Air is a comprehensive solution that simplifies air quality management for users. It is tailored for medium to large-sized sites or densely populated, enclosed spaces such as medical institutions, smart manufacturing facilities, public transportation hubs, indoor parking facilities, and department stores. Innodisk’s “iCAP Air” air quality management solution represents a milestone for all businesses committed to leveraging technology for the greater good of air quality and society.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2404226/Press_Photo_iCAP_Air_Overview.jpgLogo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/826938/Innodisk_Corporation_Logo.jpg 


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