By james art 
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) building and the Lake Mendota shoreline are visible from Picnic Point. Photo: Jeff Miller
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) will commit $15 million over the next three years to expand the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s strength in artificial intelligence research and education by supporting the Research, Innovation and Scientific Excellence Initiative (RISE) of the university, focused on AI.
RISE is a multifaceted effort focused on faculty recruitment, research infrastructure, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student opportunities. It will accelerate the hiring of 120 to 150 new faculty members over a period of three to five years in several focus areas selected for their importance to Wisconsin and their promise to address society’s greatest challenges, their complexity and impact on academic disciplines, and their importance about the lives of current and prospective UW–Madison students.
RISE-AI is the initiative’s first focus area, announced in February, and builds on and expands the university’s already strong faculty expertise across multiple disciplines. The effort will be boosted by WARF support, which will help fund cutting-edge technologies, support research staff and provide start-up costs to meet the needs of talented researchers.
“AI is already shaping our present. With WARF as a partner, we are beginning work with RISE-AI to ensure that UW–Madison can lead the way in shaping the role of AI in our future,” said UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “WARF’s support will help us attract outstanding talent, build cutting-edge research infrastructure, and create AI innovations that benefit Wisconsin and the world.”
Support from WARF will help the University’s scientists and students bring the future closer while extending the benefits of their work and education across the state and the world.
“WARF is proud to support the provost’s leadership and strategic vision and has approved a grant to support the campus’s new AI RISE initiative. Supporting research and faculty recruitment in the rapidly changing field of artificial intelligence is an important contribution to our society and, as such, a 21st century investment in the Wisconsin Idea,” said Eric Iverson, CEO of WARF. “This funding will allow UW-Madison to attract top research talent from all career stages and disciplines and ensure the campus has the infrastructure to support their innovative work.”
WARF’s contribution will give the university additional leverage to invest in the very competitive computing and skills markets, while supporting the range of fields contributing to the study and advancement of AI, from medicine, philosophy, agriculture, sociology and more. For example, this fall the School of Human Ecology announced its first two employees through RISE-AI.
“By deliberately expanding our already incredible expertise, we now have the opportunity to think in new and strategic ways, build and expand our infrastructure to support research and, most importantly, support the people who do this incredible work,” says Charles Isbell, UW–Madison chancellor and computer scientist who conducts AI research.
The strategic expansion ensures that RISE reaches every corner of the UW–Madison campus, ensuring that AI benefits not only researchers but students as well. WARF support is an investment in people.
“We are grateful to WARF for supporting this critical initiative to unlock new applications for AI that will be impactful and felt across disciplines,” said Dorota Brzezynska, UW–Madison’s vice chancellor for research. “AI is here today, and with this support, we are able to rapidly address some of our society’s most pressing problems and use AI as a tool to generate significant economic and social benefits.”
WARF also supports the mission of UW–Madison with annual funding for researchers, research projects and facilities and through its affiliate, the Morgridge Institute for Research. In 2025, WARF support for UW–Madison research will total $159.8 million.