Research Impact: AI | University of Rochester

A robotic hand playing a synthesizer while bathed in blue light to illustrate the question "can AI make music?"

Is AI the next Mozart—or just a mashup machine?

Music is a deeply human art form. What happens when AI enters the orchestra pit or the recording studio?

Steve Lim and Walter McDonald smile while seated in chairs against a bright yellow background.

Undergraduates launch affordable AI receptionist service

Walter McDonald ’27 and Stephen Lim ’27 created OrbitPhone to help small businesses manage calls and appointments.

Asian senior women working with laptop computer and using smart speakers while setting in living room at home.

Can Amazon Alexa or Google Home help detect Parkinson’s?

A quick, speech-based AI tool offers a new way to screen for a key indicator of the neurodegenerative disease.

Illustration of New York State with blue circuitry surrounded by yellow lines emanating from it to resemble a microchip while two bursts of light shine from the Rochester and Albany regions to represent the Empire AI Consortium.

University joins Empire AI Consortium to advance research and collaboration

Rochester brings expertise in artificial intelligence and cognitive science, machine learning, and high-performance computing to the consortium.

Two male researchers sit in a dimly lit office and look at a large computer screen displaying red and green chevrons in motion. One researcher is wearing an eye-tracking device.

The brain uses eye movements to see in 3D

Contrary to long-standing beliefs, motion from eye movements helps the brain perceive depth—a finding that could enhance virtual reality.

Low angle view of a young group of people in a circle holding cellphones to illustrate crowdsourced fact-checking on social media, including Community Notes on X.

The most effective online fact-checkers? Your peers

Research shows being called out by peers, not algorithms or experts, makes online authors think twice about spreading misinformation.

A woman examines a brain image in the URochester lab, focusing on neurological research and analysis.

The interstate of science

Merging neuroscience and AI

Neuroscience and AI aren’t just intersecting—they’re accelerating each other in ways that are reshaping how we study the brain and treat disease. This piece pulls you inside real collaborations where data, machines, and human curiosity are pushing past old limits. It’s less about future hype and more about what’s already happening right now.

Where brain meets machine

More areas of impact

A safer planet

Innovating cleaner materials and systems to protect humanity and the common good.

Health breakthroughs

Driving bold discoveries that improve health and strengthen community well-being for all.

Security and energy

Fueling next-generation energy solutions for a brighter future.

Research at URochester

A researcher in front of a large digital screen looking at data

Leading the way

Harnessing AI at URochester

Our cutting-edge facilities and world-class researchers are leveraging AI in new and exciting ways. Discover how URochester is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution.

URochester’s AI landscape

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