UH Hilo Professor Winston Wu Named Inaugural NSF AI Education Fellow

A UH Hilo computer science professor has landed a spot in one of the most consequential new AI education programs in the country, joining 24 other faculty members from across the nation as an inaugural National Science Foundation NAIRR AI Education Fellow.

Winston Wu, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, was named to the first cohort of the National Science Foundation's National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NSF NAIRR) AI Education Fellows. The Computing Research Association announced the selection on March 18, 2026.

Wu is one of 25 national ambassadors representing 23 states, a cohort that places Hilo alongside major research universities in shaping how artificial intelligence gets taught at the undergraduate level nationwide.

As a Fellow, Wu will pilot and adapt courses using NAIRR Pilot Classroom resources, work to support faculty across the country in weaving those materials into their own courses, and help set the strategic direction of the NAIRR Pilot Classroom Expansion AI EDU Research Coordination Network. That network, known as the AI EDU RCN, is designed to coordinate AI education research and expand access to the computational resources the NSF has assembled under the NAIRR Pilot Classroom initiative.

The fellowship puts Wu in a position to influence curriculum decisions well beyond UH Hilo's campus in Hilo. By helping shape the RCN's direction, he will have input into how a national infrastructure program for AI research translates into classroom practice at institutions across 23 states.

UH Hilo's press contact for this announcement is Alyson Kakugawa-Leong, reachable at (808) 932-7669.