The Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering is Boston University’s interdisciplinary research hub for computing, artificial intelligence, computational science and data science. Its mission is to bring researchers across disciplines together to tackle important problems, develop research programs and pursue work with lasting societal impact.4
The Institute began work in fall 2011, following a pledge from Bahaa R. Hariri to establish it in honor of his father, Rafik Hariri.3 It was created as a university-wide incubator for collaborative research and training, and has since operated as a federation of centers, labs and initiatives.27 Its founding director was Azer Bestavros; the current director is Ioannis (Yannis) Paschalidis.25
Based at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, the Institute works across the university rather than serving a single department. Its community includes more than 400 faculty affiliates across 13 schools and 66 departments, alongside student researchers, staff and collaborators.11 Its activities include supporting multidisciplinary research teams, educational and outreach initiatives, and programs intended to help research collaborations develop into sustained efforts.49
The Institute’s portfolio spans areas such as AI, computing, computational modeling and data science, with research connected to challenges in fields including engineering, health, management, the social sciences and the arts.4 One example of its cross-disciplinary approach is its support for a robotics facility on BU’s Charles River campus, where companies can work with faculty and students to design, prototype and test robotics innovations.9