Science is brewing at Hancher’s Stanley Café! Science on Tap is an informal forum for UI researchers to engage the campus and the local community in a discussion of science in a fun and inviting atmosphere. Please join us April 19 from 5:30-6:30 pm for Science on Tap during the weekly Thursday Nights at Hancher program.

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual Reality are expected to take over about 50% of all jobs in the near future. These technologies are finally maturing enough to be considered viable, disruptive, and real. Traditional, difficult and risky jobs will be replaced with robotic systems while active AI will take over many industries. This talk will present the state of affairs in the realm of these three technologies and will present current work at the University of Iowa in these areas. Dr. Malek will explore the benefits and risks associated with the advent of these technologies, will provide examples of where it has successfully been implemented, and will discuss how these technologies can be leveraged toward humanity’s benefit. The presentation will also focus on the Virtual Soldier Research program at the University of Iowa, a unique one of its kind human simulator called SANTOS®, developed at Iowa, and now helps the US Military design new equipment, test scenarios, and predicts injury. Santos® is a computer program developed over the past 12 years by a team of about 50 researchers. Santos® operates inside a computer and can check for all types of scenarios before the equipment or vehicle is built, thus reducing cost and time.

Speaker: Karim Abdel-Malek (Professor, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering)

Light entrees, snacks, and refreshments will be available for purchase from the Stanley Café.