Liverpool Virtual Seminar Series on Data Intensive Science

UniverseTBD: Democratising Science in the Era of Agentic AI

Date: Tuesday 14 Jannuary 2025 – 15:00 (Europe/London)
Speaker: Ioana Ciucă, Researcher in Astrophysics and Computer Science at Stanford University and the founder of UniverseTBD

Abstract

Scientists have long sought to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery. Traditional methods, while rigorous, can be slow and resource-intensive. Through the UniverseTBD consortium's mission to democratise science for everyone, we explore how artificial intelligence (AI), particularly agentic AI systems, can transform the scientific process. I first introduce Pathfinder, an AI-enabled retrieval framework that helps astronomers and enthusiasts efficiently explore and synthesise the vast astronomical literature. I then discuss extending the capabilities of Pathfinder with HypoGen, a methodology for generating novel, creative and feasible scientific hypotheses. I examine our efforts to understand the impact of these systems by evaluating them through real user-LLM interactions and how we are using these insights to build better tools that serve our community. Looking ahead, I discuss the potential ways AI will revolutionise astronomy over the coming years and our role in enacting this transformation. Through our continued efforts, values, and mission, the UniverseTBD team remains committed to advancing scientific discovery and understanding.

 

Biography

Ioana is a Research Scientist at Stanford University and a member of the newly founded

interdisciplinary Center of Decoding the Universe led by Prof Risa Wechsler. She works at the intersection of Astrophysics and Artificial Intelligence. Hercommitment to education and providing quality resources for underrepresented students, along with her experience as a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute in the United Kingdom, led her to co-found UniverseTBD, an AI research lab aimed at Democratising Science for Everyone. As the principal investigator, she has guided her team to grow into a 30+ person international collaboration, developing specialised models and benchmarks for scientific research. Through these efforts, the team strives to make a lasting impact on both scientific advancement and educational equity.