AI Bootcamp
- Increase your competitiveness in grant applications.
- See how AI can support your research efforts.
- Learn by doing in hands-on workshops.
Date: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Time: 9 a.m. – Noon
Location: Powerhouse Energy Campus
Offering Two Tracks:
- Track A: May 26 – June 30 (registration closed)
- Track B: July 14 – August 18 (registration open)
Bootcamp Highlights
- Tuesday is faculty-led instruction, while Thursday is guided build time.
- Each week’s instruction builds on the previous week, culminating in Demo Day presentations.
- During Bootcamp, participants will build a working AI-integrated prototype.
- Weekly topics directly cover OVPR proposal goals: applied AI literacy, replicable curriculum, accelerated research, institutional infrastructure, and competitive positioning for external AI funding.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who should register?
CSU researchers, faculty, graduate students, and ambitious undergraduates.
Do I need previous AI experience?
Some previous experience is helpful but not required.
Will Track A and Track B contain similar information?
Track B will closely follow the same schedule as Track A. Please only register for Track A or Track B (do not register for both).
How do I get to the Powerhouse?
We are just north of Old Town and are accessible via the MAX. We also offer free parking.
Track A Schedule
Week One: May 26 and 28
Tuesday: Building Foundations
Presenters:
- Bryan Wilson, Executive Director of the CSU Energy Institute, CSU Presidential Chair in Energy Innovation, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Blake Teipel, Entrepreneur in Residence, CSU Energy Institute
- Bruce Draper, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Computer Science at CSU
Thursday
- Set up dev environments
- Build their first working Q&A tool over a research document of their choosing
Week Two: June 2 and 4
Tuesday: Applied AI for Energy
Presenter:
- Jesse Burkhardt, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University
Thursday: Guided Build Time
Week Three: June 9 and 11
Tuesday: AI for Design and Optimization
Presenter:
- Yinshuang Xiao, Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at CSU
Thursday: Guided Build Time
Week Four: June 16 and 18
Tuesday: Applied Deep Learning Methods
Presenter:
- Tim Hansen, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CSU
Thursday: Guided Build Time
Week Five: June 23 and 25
Tuesday: Ensemble Models and Orchestration Layers
Presenter:
- TBA
Thursday: Guided Build Time
Week Six: June 30
Tuesday: Demo Day
- Open to the public, participants will present their project.
Track B Schedule
Week One: July 14 and 16
Tuesday:
- Presenter: Bruce Draper, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Computer
- Topics Covered: Opening + Foundations: AI/ML distinctions, adversarial AI, model evaluation
Thursday
- Guided Build Time
- Topics Covered: First API call / RAG pipeline over participant research document
Week Two: July 21 and 23
Tuesday: Applied AI for Energy
- Presenter: Jesse Burkhardt, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University
- Topics Covered: LLM-in action; Manuscript prep; Data analysis and applied lens to Deep Learning for Earth & Energy Data: classification, remote sensing, computer vision
Thursday:
- Guided Build Time
Week Three: July 28 and 30
Tuesday: AI for Design and Optimization
- Presenter: Daniel Herber, Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at CSU
- Topics Covered: AI for Design & Optimization: surrogate modeling, control co-design, AI-suggested DOE
Thursday:
- Guided Build Time
- Topics Covered: Graph construction + GCN/GraphSAGE training on participant research data
Week Four: August 4 and 6
Tuesday: Applied Deep Learning Methods
Presenter:
- Yinshuang Xiao, Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at CSU
- Topics Covered: GNNs and Graph Network Modeling: AI for networked engineering systems — infrastructure, transportation, power grids, sociotechnical network
Thursday:
- Guided Build Time
Week Five: August 11 and 13
Tuesday: Ensemble Models and Orchestration Layers
- Presenter: Tim Hansen, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CSU
- Topics Covered: SLM, Edge & Adaptive Control: fine-tuning, LoRA, quantization, on-device deployment
Thursday:
- Presenter: Chris Atkinson, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Topics Covered: SLM, Edge & Adaptive Control: fine-tuning, LoRA, quantization, on-device deployment
Week Six: August 18
Tuesday:
- Demo Day: Open to the public, participants will present their project.