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University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center and Google Cloud host AI research workshop to accelerate scientific discovery

Full-day event brings together UH researchers and Google experts to explore AI-powered tools, federated learning, interdisciplinary collaboration

March 23, 2026

The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, in partnership with Google Cloud, will host a landmark full-day workshop on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, titled, “Accelerating Research in the Age of AI: A Synergistic Workshop with Google.” The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sullivan Conference Center, UH Cancer Center, 701 Ilalo Street, Honolulu.

UH Cancer Center and Google banner workshopDesigned to reflect the University of Hawaiʻi’s unique geographic and cultural context, the workshop will highlight how academic-industry partnerships can strengthen research capacity by expanding access to advanced AI tools, high-performance computing, and specialized technical expertise. The program is open to UH faculty, investigators, trainees and students across biomedical, population, ocean, earth and computational sciences. Deadline to register is March 24. In-person attendance is already full, but online participation is encouraged.

"This workshop represents an exciting opportunity for UH researchers to engage directly with Google’s leading AI scientists and tools," said Dr. John Shepherd, Chief Scientific Officer at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, who is organizing the workshop. "We are committed to building the infrastructure and partnerships that will propel our research into the next generation of discovery."

Workshop Highlights

The agenda features a lineup of renowned speakers and interactive sessions, including:

  1. Keynote: “AI Co-Scientist System and Gemini-Based Research Tools,” presented by Charlie Elliot, Lead of Rapid Innovation, Google Public Sector;
  2. “Flash Talks: Great Challenges Across Disciplines,” featuring Peter Sadowski (Associate Professor, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, UH Mānoa), István Szapudi (Theoretical Cosmologist, Institute for Astronomy, UH), and Justin Stopa (Associate Professor, Ocean and Resources Engineering, UH Mānoa);
  3. Deep Dive Sessions covering your “Modern Research Toolkit” (Francisco Gonzalez, Application Modernization Specialist Architect, Google Public Sector) and “Federated Learning for Global Collaboration” (Tom Denton, Research Scientist, Google DeepMind/Google Research);
  4. Student Poster Competition, with Google-sponsored awards for the best presentations, judged during the Google-sponsored lunch break;
  5. Co-Designing Breakouts in which participants brainstorm high-impact solutions in three focus areas: AI for hypothesis generation, Google’s cloud tools, and federated learning.

The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion and vision synthesis identifying a roadmap for future UH-Google collaboration, along with the announcement of poster competition award winners.

For registration and more information, visit: https://shepherdresearchlab.org/event/collaborative-workshop-with-google/