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OSU Research on Tap

Connecting the community.
With a different researcher each month from the sciences, arts and humanities Research on Tap is an opportunity to have a conversation regarding their work and the impact it has on you and your community.
We hope you will join us the third Monday of each month to enjoy some of Stillwater’s own local brew while chatting about some of the interesting research happening here on the OSU campus. The event begins with approximately 20 minutes of conversation between the Vice President of Research and the researcher, followed by questions and answer session with the audience.
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August 18, 2025

Expert Guest: Dr. Pratul Agarwal, Professor of Physiological Sciences, Associate Vice President for Research, and Director of OSU’s High-Performance Computing Center

"Supercomputers, Computational Biology, and the New Age of AI: Where Do We Go from Here?"

 

Computers are better than humans at doing certain tasks, such as repetitive math calculations and making models. More than 20 years, Dr. Pratul Agarwal decided to use computers to solve mysteries
behind the most fundamental processes of life, including how proteins and enzymes work. Starting with building computer models of proteins, he realized that for these models to be accurate, he
needed powerful computers. So, he started using Supercomputers, which perform calculations thousands to millions of times faster than the average desktop computer. But he got stuck. The
complexity of biology demanded more computing. So, he decided to take a look under the hood and see what could be done to make calculations even faster. Fast forward 15 years, he became part of
the community which designs and operates the latest generation of Supercomputers for the scientific community. Currently, he is deploying the biggest Supercomputer in Oklahoma. In the last 3 years,
Dr. Agarwal has noticed that the same technology that improved his scientific calculations was supercharging the next revolution – artificial intelligence (AI) based on large language models. “I have
seen this movie before, and this time the scale is completely different”, he says. This conversation with Dr. Agarwal will describe how AI will change education, scientific research and more, including
jobs in the future and many things in our daily lives.



More Information on the Research on Tap Series...

 

Upcoming Schedule:

Date Guest Expert Topic
August 18, 2025 Pratul Agarwal How Research on Biomolecules and Genomic Information Led to Leading OSU’s Supercomputing Efforts
September 15, 2025 Bree Baker The Importance of Movement for Aging Adults' Health and Wellbeing
October 20, 2025 Kat Gardner-Vandy STEM Workforce Development as a Braider River: Come Find Your Flow
November 17, 2025 Amanda Morris How Protective Factors Mitigate the Impact of Childhood Adversity and Disrupt the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma
December 15, 2025 Matteo Minghetti Assessing Environmental Toxins
January 12, 2026 Chuck Bunting Electromagnetic Field Penetration 
February 16, 2026 Eric Benton Radiation
March 16, 2026 Uma Aryal Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Technologies and their Applications in Nutrition and Milk Research
April 20, 2026 Jennifer Borland How Art History Can Inform Us about Medieval Medicine and Science

 

Recommend a Guest Expert:

Would you like to be considered for a guest spot in an upcoming Research on Tap session, or would you like to suggest a colleague? Please complete the online recommendation form. We plan our Research on Tap guest schedule several months in advance, so submit early for consideration.

 

Would You Like to be Added to Our Mailing List?

If you would like to receive notifications and additional information for upcoming Research on Tap sessions, please complete this brief online sign-up form, and we will send you an email invitation to attend.

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