Advancing Research Translation with AI Stakeholder Insights (2025-2026)

Background

Duke University is a hub for groundbreaking research – but how do we push academic discoveries out of the lab to impact society? Within the Pratt School of Engineering, only a fraction of researchers pursue technology translation, leaving countless scientific breakthroughs with potential societal impact on the shelf. Meanwhile, graduate student interest in entrepreneurship continues to rise. It is imperative to bridge the gap by helping researchers forge stronger connections with the end-user communities and stakeholders they aim to serve.

A major challenge for research translation into societal impact is engaging with end-users and stakeholders in the real world to learn about their true needs and wants, so that research technology can be effectively geared to them. This sort of community engagement is not required as part of a Ph.D. and, therefore, rarely occurs.

Undergraduate and master’s students at Duke, however, are perfectly positioned to meaningfully contribute to research translation by conducting this sort of community engagement. They have a strong interest in research conducted at Duke, come from a variety of backgrounds to bring unique insights to the conversation and often take courses where they learn to engage with end-users and stakeholders. This approach enables positive learning and engagement with the research by Duke undergraduate and master’s students while also providing meaningful impact on the research direction.

Project Description

This project team will enhance technology translation by using stakeholder interviews and AI tools to evaluate and share use cases and high impact pathways to move innovation from the lab to end users. Team members will develop:

1. Technology Reports – Team members will begin by exploring specific tech innovation cases and performing a literature search and conducting interviews with the Ph.D. students to clear, jargon-free reports on their assigned research technology.
2. Use-Case Database – Using AI tools like ChatGPT, students will then brainstorm potential use-cases for positive societal impact and evaluate them based on quality and technology understanding.
3. End-User Understanding – Next, team members will select top use-cases, conducting 15-25 stakeholder interviews per case (~150 total) to assess societal needs.
4. Research & Development (R&D) Reports – Students will then compile findings into R&D reports to help researchers to refine their plans for societal impact.
5. AI Tool - Students will develop a custom AI tool that will assist future Duke researchers to explore pathways to potential societal impact.

Anticipated Outputs

Research technology report; extensive database of use cases; synthesized interview data; refined strategies for effective AI tool use

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 4-6 graduate students and 10-12 undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds who share a common desire to understand the societal implications of AI. Students may come from fields such as engineering, cultural anthropology, public policy, computer science and statistical science. Applicants should have an interest in stakeholder engagement and how this process affects product, program and service design.

Students on the team will explore innovative technologies and learn to break down complex information and synthesize insights. Students will also use AI tools for brainstorming use cases and evaluating outputs. Students will learn skills in prompt engineering, custom script development and validating AI suggestions by consulting traditional research, Ph.D. students and end-users. Team members will gain experience in stakeholder engagement, learn to analyze unstructured data and deepen their understanding of the societal impact of research.

A graduate student will be chosen to serve as project manager.

In Fall 2025, the team will meet on Tuesday and Thursdays from 8:30-9:45 a.m. in Wilkinson 127.

Timing

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

• Fall 2025: Develop research technology understanding and report; research AI tool education and learning; brainstorm and develop use case database; identify end-users and stakeholders; develop interview protocol
• Spring 2026: Participate in interview training workshop; conduct pilot interviews; refine interview protocol; complete interview data collection; carry out interview analysis and qualitative analysis; complete research technology use case report and engineering specification development

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semester

 

_{Image: Ann Saterbak (L) and Sophia Santillan (R) discuss tech design with engineering students in EGR 101}