Devin Chen is part of the first generation of Bulldogs using artificial intelligence to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. In his case: hunger.
As the son of restaurateurs, the junior cybersecurity major from Louisville understands how food brings people together. He also recognizes many Mississippians face food insecurity—when people either lack access to reliable sources of food or simply do not have enough to eat.
While there are many food banks and pantries across the state addressing this need for their communities, Chen had an idea: What if these organizations could come together in a single network to better distribute food to where it is most needed?
Through the skills he’s learning at Mississippi State and partnerships with Amazon Web Services and the Hattiesburg-based food bank Extra Table, Chen is developing software to use AI and machine learning that will analyze statewide hunger data and food bank inventories to better route nourishment to where it’s critically needed.
Simply put: What he’s learning at MSU could feed those who need help the most.
Chen is part of a growing pack of Bulldogs exploring and advancing the uses of AI to take care of what matters.
Already an established national leader in AI and data science education, MSU will remain at the forefront of these cutting-edge technologies thanks to a new initiative and significant investment announced this summer.
In June, Gov. Tate Reeves launched the Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program, or MAI-TAP. A partnership between AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority, Amazon Web Services and many of the state’s universities and community colleges, it is designed to supercharge the research, development and implementation of AI and related technologies and infrastructure in education and the state’s economy.
Through MAI-TAP, multiple universities will receive a combined $9.1 million in grants for advancing specific programs and initiatives based on their unique strengths and specialties.
As the state’s premier research institution, MSU will receive $2.2 million of the funding—the most given to any of the recipients. With its share, the university will establish an endowment and seek private matches for workforce and research initiatives. Specifically, MSU will add new faculty with the financial infusion and develop a graduate certificate in data center construction management—one of the first of its kind in the nation.
When announcing the program, Reeves called it a “bold step forward for Mississippi” that will ensure the Magnolia State leads the way in innovation and workforce readiness.
“We’re not just preparing for the future—we’re building it. This investment will help to ensure that Mississippians are equipped with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy,” he said. “This is about more than just jobs—it’s about opportunity.”
‘Daunting and exciting’
To put into context how quickly researchers believe AI will transform the world, consider humanity’s advances in flight. It only took 66 years for people to walk on the moon after first taking powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Researchers believe AI’s far-reaching effect will revolutionize day-to-day life in similar leaps forward but in an even shorter time span.
Julie Jordan, MSU’s senior advisor for artificial intelligence and data governance, said it’s hard to picture what life will look like after 50 years of AI integration.
“It’s daunting, but it’s exciting and amazing at the same time,” she said of helping spearhead MSU’s push as a leader in the emerging technology. “I can’t believe how fast this is moving, and even the experts have a hard time predicting five years out, much less 10 to 15.
“But this is a situation Mississippi State is proud to be in—we’re proud to figure out how to lead this and help the state. The way I see it, the most important thing we can do right now is upskill our people. They’re so important to this and how we transition in the future,” Jordan continued. “The bottom line is AI is going to be pervasive and ubiquitous. If we cannot help our people know how to take advantage of it, we will be left behind as a state.”
While she can’t picture what life with AI will look like in 50 years, she has a clear picture of what future success in AI education looks like at MSU.
“We want to turn out graduates that employers are knocking down our doors to hire because they’re well-prepared in the academics and skills of the day and, like Dr. Keenum always says, are prepared to be good citizens of this state and country, and give back to their communities,” she said. “His three principles of integrity, respect and hard work don’t change just because AI tools become part of our daily lives.”
Jordan serves as MSU’s representative on the AI Workforce Readiness Council, a group created by MAI-TAP to oversee collaboration between the state, participating schools and industry. The council is chaired by Kollin Napier, a three-time MSU graduate who serves as director of the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network—the nation’s first statewide AI initiative integrating the blooming technology into education and industry.
“Mississippi is very much a partnership state. Others may have a single or maybe a couple institutions working on it, but nobody is tackling AI development as a state like Mississippi is,” Napier said. “The unique approach Mississippi State is taking—one that many other institutions are looking at and watching—is the interdisciplinary approach to AI education. MSU is creating students who are very skilled at multiple areas of computing technology.
“We’re showing companies that we’re producing talent here in the state,” he continued. “Combined with continued economic investments, we’re building a pipeline for these graduates to stay in Mississippi.”
MSU is among the first universities in the country to establish multidisciplined, AI-related degree pathways focusing on the coding behind the tools—OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, for example—and their applications in the real world. The addition of a certificate in data center construction means the university will address the physical infrastructure supporting AI’s rapidly growing needs as well.
In 2024, the university became the first in the Southeastern Conference to launch a Bachelor of Science in artificial intelligence. Housed in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, it focuses on subjects including machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing and computer vision that prepare graduates for specialized careers in AI development and research. This fall, the department began offering a master’s degree in the field, which includes 12 hours of electives allowing students to tailor their education to their interests.
This year, the state’s Institutions of Higher Learning also approved MSU’s newest college—the College of Integrative Studies, a cross-campus collaborative effort which houses the Bachelor of Science in data science, Master of Applied Data Science and a certification program for data science pedagogy designed for educators.
Recipients of the undergraduate data science degree—another first of its kind in the Southeast—apply fundamentals to one of 10 concentrations offered across MSU’s other academic colleges. Like its undergraduate relative, the applied master’s degree’s curriculum offers practical, hands-on experiences tailored to students’ interests and hopeful career paths.
“From the academic side, we know the job market will need people to develop AI, use it and build the infrastructure supporting it, so we’re going to teach students all three,” said Jamie Dyer, College of Integrative Studies dean. “We have an opportunity to team up with everyone across campus and make AI universitywide instead of pigeonholing it.
“We want to be able to give students what they need to be successful,” he continued. “If you want to build AI, we have a degree for you; if you want to apply AI, we have a degree for you; and if you want to build a building that runs AI, we’ll have a pathway for you, too.”
By Carl Smith, Illustrations by Heather Rowe using AI tools and reference images from OPA Photographers