Watch the July 2025 AI Lightning Talks online here.

Presenters:

• Emily Ladendorf, Administrator, Technology and Marketing, Belin-Blank Center, College of Education, on how to use the Researcher agent in Copilot to determine whether course notes cover all a certification requirements.

• Sean Hesler, Director, Organizational Effectiveness, University HR, on exploring Copilot as a proxy for a certified professional coach.  

• Allie Brandriet, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching, on a simple Copilot agent that helps summarize meetings and track action items to stay organized and streamline logistics for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) program meetings. This agent was created in collaboration with Sara Nasrollahian Mojarad, Associate Director, Center for Teaching

• Laura Yost, Instructional Services Specialist, College of Nursing, on how to use Napkin (an AI tool) that can support principles of Universal Design for Learning 

• Ross Miller, Lead Application Developer, Admin Information Systems (AIS), on an AI Lecture Note generation to meet the needs for students in Student Disability Services and enhances automatic transcripts with AI  

• Watch the June 2025 AI Lightning Talks online here.

Presenters:

• Salim George, Senior Learning Analytics Specialist, Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, on streamlining UX interviews with live transcript and Copilot summaries
• Siddharth Sarathe, Senior Application Developer, Administrative Information Systems, on Agentic AI in Prospector
• Amy Bartachek, Managing Director, Tippie Graduate Career Services, Tippie College of Business, on AI in job searching
• Marina Zhang, Engineering & Informatics Librarian, Engineering Library, UI Libraries, on making scientific reading more enjoyable with Gen AI
• Charlie Taylor, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Office of Strategic Communications, on brainstorming and developing new ideas for the Accessibility Task Force

Panopto recording:

• Watch the April 2025 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Allison Levine, Assistant Professor of Counselor Education, on AI and Virtual Reality in Counselor and Clinical training
• Matt Hodges, Data Literacy Project Manager, on Synthesia AI-generated videos on data literacy promotion
• Sean Kelley, Team Lead for Media Production Department in Dentistry, on using ElevenLabs AI for audio processing in media production
• Andy Vu, Doctoral candidate in Education Measurement and Statistics, on creating Copilot agent(s) for personal utilization 
• Justin Hess, Senior Systems Administrator in College of Pharmacy | UI Pharmaceuticals, on leveraging AI Dashboards for Contract Cost Analysis

Panopto recording: 

• Watch the March 2025 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Ryan Gore, Sr. IT Security Engineer, Information Security & Policy Office, on catching phish with LLMs
• Greg Thompson, Director, Residence Education, University Housing & Dining, on qualitative analysis using Copilot for civic dialogue skills
• Adam Brummett, Associate Professor of Instruction, Chemistry, on the use of Copilot using Power Automate
• Vedansh Airen, AI Support Team Consultant, Enterprise Services ITS, on image replacement through augmented reality and artificial intelligence
• Erin Nelson, Associate Professor of Practice, Tippie College of Business, on custom GPT in analyzing transcripts of student discussions and feedback

Panopto recording:

• Watch the February 2025 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Derek Siebert, Lead Application Developer, ITS- Custom Solutions and Integrations, on Genetic Algorithm to predict NCAA March Madness finalists
• Jennifer Deberg, User Services Librarian, Hardin Health Sciences Library, on AI in literature reviews
• Stephen Cummings, Social Work Program Director & Clinical Associate Professor, on AI in classroom assignments
• Marissa. Green-Francescon, Assistant Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, on rapid qualitative data analysis with Microsoft Copilot
• Spencer Owen, Rienow Hall Coordinator in Residence Education, on using AI to create helpful documentation
• Bianca Shamberger, Doctoral Candidate in Social Studies Teacher Education, on using AI to create critical, but non-political teaching materials in highly politicized times

Panopto recording:

• Watch the January 2025 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Milan Sonka - Upcoming HawkAI Opportunities
• Tyler Bell - Introducing students from Fall 2025 ECE:5995 "Generative AI Tools and Applications."
  • Samantha Pothitakis - Amazon Content Generator
  • Fatma and Beyza Ilerisoy - MCAT Study Plan Generator
  • Veetrag Nahar, Abhishek Shastry and Yash Vora - Video Learning Platform 
  • Moaiz Abrar and Dilara Kizilkaya - Describe It! game 
  • Lo Fi Automated Short-Form Video Generation 
  • Yun Jae Choi - Outfit Anything
  • Frugal Foods 2.0

Panopto recording:

Watch the November 2024 AI Lightning Talk online.

Presenters:

• Nathan Elliott, Course Coordinator, Distance and Online Education, on AI music
• Mike Frangi, Director of IT Project Management, Information Technology Services, on AI for project management
• Tyler Bell, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, on "Natalie's Book Reader"
• Nicole Dahya, Director of Strategic Communication, Information Technology Services, on creating a professional headshot with AI
• Dave Kelly, Executive Director, ITS Enterprise Infrastructure, on disaster-recovery planning with AI
• Jack Rossi, Communications Manager, College of Dentistry, on social media strategy with AI
• Barry Schreier Director of Higher Education Program, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health and Clinical Professor of Counseling Psychology, University of Iowa College of Education, on what principles guide ChatGPT

Panopto recording:

• Watch the September 2024 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• James Hirsch, Web/IT Training Specialist in ITS Enterprise Services, on creating abstract AI art
• Ashley Glassberg-Nazette, Senior IT Support Consultant in the ITS Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, on Goblin tools
• Katherine Beydler, Associate Director, Center for Teaching, on authentic assessment via AI
• Kirsten Morris, Instructional Services Specialist in Organizational Effectiveness, on using AI to create animation scripts and mastery quiz questions in online training courses
• Erin Talbert, Assistant Professor, Health and Human Physiology, on using AI to create distractors for quiz questions
• Tom Neese, IT Director, ITS Enterprise Infrastructure, on Reverse Engineering Code (for managers) and poetry for nerds

Panopto recording: 

• Watch the October 2024 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters: 

• Kirsten Morris, Instructional Services Specialist in Organizational Effectiveness, on using AI to adjust the tone and/or reading level of content
• Laura Young, IT Support Consultant, Extended Technical Support, on AI translating earbuds
• Justin Fraase, Senior Director of Strategic Communication, University Human Resources, on using Copilot for HR web content
• Mike Keller-Wilson, Administrator of Student Programs Belin-Blank Center, demonstrating BedtimeStory.AI and Belin-Blank's upcoming AI Explorer program.
• Matthew Anson, Interim-Director Data Analytics and Insights, on leveraging AI to enhance understanding by making your own podcast.
• Kristine Munoz, Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of Global Health Studies Program, using AI to help students read scientific papers; using AI to prepare for classes (worksheets, etc.)
• Warren Staal, IT Security Architect, "From Clicks to Conversations: AI's Path to Marketing Gold"
• Philip Haworth, Systems Analyst, ITS-Research Services, on how to leverage AI for more efficient notes and documentation.

Panopto recording:

• Watch the August 2024 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Ross Miller, Lead Application Developer, ITS Administrative Information Systems, on using AI to generate humorous images based on common office terminology.
• Mark Hamilton, Studio Manager and Instructional Service Specialist, Distance and Online Education, on using a CustomGPT to build a study guide generator.
• Jimmy Farrelly, Student Instructional Technology Assistant, Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, on using AI as an Alt-Text-generating assistant.
• Steve Fleagle, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, on two helpful AI use cases.
• Mark Anthoney, Lead Instructional Designer, Distance and Online Education, on using AI to turn research notes into a shareable resource.
• Carmen Langel, Director, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Grant Support Office, on grant-related prompts. 
• Ryan Puhrmann, Director of Admissions and Outreach, College of Engineering, on creating first-draft content for promotional documents.

Panopto recording:

• Watch the July 2024 AI Lightning Talk online here.

Presenters:

• Chris Clough, IT director, College of Education and Division of Student Life, demonstrating how to leverage AI for effective time management.
• Nicole Villanueva, instructional technology consultant, Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, showing how to use Copilot for efficient email drafting.
• Patrick Riepe, web manager, College of Public Health, sharing how breaking down a task into smaller, manageable prompts can lead to solutions for complex programming challenges.
• Justin Evans, IT security architect, and Jim Chaffee, executive director of learning innovation and technology, Tippie College of Business, presenting how to create images and video from a prompt.