External Colloquium | Cecilia Garraffo (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)

Title: Transforming Astronomical Discovery with AI: Challenges and Opportunities in the Age of Big Data

Abstract: Astronomy is on the brink of a revolution driven by the sheer volume of data from next-generation observatories like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and NASA's Roman Space Telescope. Traditional data analysis techniques, while effective for smaller datasets, are proving inadequate in extracting hidden patterns and insights from this influx of petabytes of multivariate, heteroscedastic, and sparsely sampled data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a transformative solution to this challenge, enabling the exploration of astronomical data at unprecedented scales.

However, the application of AI to astronomy is not without its difficulties. Existing AI methods, primarily designed for more structured datasets, must be adapted to the unique challenges of astronomical data, particularly in ensuring that AI-driven models produce physically meaningful results. In this talk, I will discuss the critical need for developing AI specifically for astronomy and outline the interdisciplinary efforts required to create robust, domain-specific tools. Highlighting examples from the AstroAI initiative, I will show how AI is poised to not only enhance our ability to process vast datasets but also to intentionally search for the unexpected, opening new opportunities for discovery.

Ultimately, I will emphasize the importance of community readiness and collaboration as we transition from a data revolution to a discovery revolution in astronomy, propelled by AI.

• Date:
  Oct. 17, 2024, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
  
  
• Location:

  Schwarzschild Haus Lecture Hall

  
  
• Contact:
  Julián Alvarado-Gómez