University of Virginia

The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, is a flagship public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia. It consistently ranks among the top public universities in the United States and houses more than 30,000 employees across its academic, medical, and operational divisions, with an annual operating budget of approximately $5.8 billion. Within the AI safety and existential risk space, UVA is home to several relevant efforts. Yu Meng, an assistant professor of computer science at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, focuses on making large language models more capable, efficient, and aligned. His research addresses post-training alignment, preference optimization, reasoning, and factuality in LLMs. He received a $200,000 Superalignment Fast Grant from OpenAI — one of only 50 funded out of 2,700 proposals — to advance training methodologies for superintelligent AI systems, including techniques for learning from incomplete, ambiguous, or inconsistently labeled data. Lu Feng, also an associate professor of computer science at UVA, focuses on runtime safety and trust for embodied AI systems — intelligent agents that perceive, decide, and act in physical environments. Nando Fioretto leads the Responsible AI for Science and Engineering (RAISE) group, which promotes safe and responsible use of AI in scientific and engineering contexts. The Virginia AI Security Initiative (VAISI) is a student-run community at UVA dedicated to mitigating the risks of advanced AI. VAISI equips students with knowledge in AI governance and technical alignment, connects them with mentors and career pathways in AI safety, and aims to serve as a hub for bridge-builders between AI researchers and policymakers. At the institutional level, UVA's AI@UVA initiative, co-directed by Ryan Wright and Henry Kautz from the Office of the Provost, pursues responsible AI across research, education, healthcare, and public service.