Webinar: Compound AI for Cross-Disciplinary Discovery and Research Facility Automation featuring Svitlana Volkova

The original webinar was hosted by NSF CI Compass on May 27, 2025.

"Compound AI for Cross-Disciplinary Discovery and Research Facility Automation" features Svitlana Volkova, Chief of AI, Office of Science and Technology, Aptima Inc.

Abstract:

As scientific research infrastructures generate increasingly complex and voluminous data, next-generation artificial intelligence approaches will be essential for extracting meaningful insights across traditionally siloed disciplinary boundaries. This presentation introduces BioSage, a pioneering Compound AI architecture that orchestrates specialized autonomous agents with frontier models, retrieval-augmented generation, and domain-specific tools to enable breakthrough discoveries at the intersection of scientific domains. We demonstrate how BioSage's multi-agent system—integrating retrieval, translation, and reasoning capabilities—will revolutionize scientific infrastructure through intelligent cross-disciplinary knowledge synthesis that transcends current methodological limitations. Our research highlights emerging applications across advanced research environments: from automated knowledge synthesis that bridges disparate scientific fields to novel experiment design that leverages cross-domain methodologies, from intelligent instrument calibration to dynamic resource orchestration in heterogeneous computing environments. Central to our vision is a human-centered design approach with thoughtfully engineered human-agent interaction workflows that amplify scientific expertise while maintaining appropriate trust calibration and interpretability. We present a comprehensive evaluation framework that measures both technical performance and scientific value-add against rigorously designed benchmarks, alongside a responsible innovation protocol addressing dual-use risks, algorithmic transparency, and mechanisms for preserving scientific integrity. Through causal investigations in biomedical and computational science case studies, we demonstrate how BioSage represents a paradigm shift in scientific discovery that will enhance research productivity, accelerate innovation cycles, and democratize access to advanced AI-powered tools across the global scientific community.

Bio:

Dr. Svitlana Volkova serves as Chief of AI in Aptima's Office of Science and Technology. She spearheads the company's initiatives to develop trustworthy and human-centric AI systems that tackle complex real-world problems for the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Dr. Volkova's research focuses on advancing natural language processing and machine learning techniques, with an emphasis on graph neural networks, causal inference, and multimodal models. Her work has pioneered methods for AI-powered analytics to explain complex social systems and behaviors. She is recognized as an expert in human-centered AI design, evaluation, and developing trustworthy AI systems. A recognized leader in AI, Dr. Volkova has led projects funded by DARPA, IARPA, SOCOM, DOE ASCR and NNSA focused on advancing AI to support national security missions. Her 70+ peer-reviewed publications exemplify her contributions across AI, machine learning, and social media analytics. Dr. Volkova serves on program committees and review boards for premier AI conferences including AAAI, ACL, EMNLP, and NeurIPS. An advocate for diversity in technology, Dr. Volkova is an active member of Women in Machine Learning. She received her PhD in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University, where she was affiliated with the Center for Language and Speech Processing and the Human Language Technology Center of Excellence.