Date: January 20, 2026
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET
Join us January 20, 2026 at 3 pm ET for an in-depth session exploring how FABRIC is advancing AI-driven user support through a Q&A tool designed to make the testbed more accessible, intuitive, and efficient for researchers. This webinar will introduce the new AI-powered resource that streamlines how users discover information, learn core concepts, and navigate FABRIC’s nationwide infrastructure. Developed by a team led by research cyberinfrastructure architect Mami Hayashida at the University of Kentucky, with contributions from UK students Joshna Kurra and Alex Raketich, the tool intelligently retrieves and synthesizes information from FABRIC documentation, the knowledge base, and community discussions to deliver rapid, accurate answers tailored to diverse user needs.
Attendees will learn how this evolving system supports both new and experienced users—whether exploring foundational FABRIC terminology or addressing complex technical challenges that previously required forum-based assistance. The tool, currently available to authenticated users, is undergoing ongoing refinement in accuracy, metadata structure, and documentation to enable broader access and future integration with additional AI-driven capabilities.
The webinar will also highlight how the team is advancing earlier prototypes for automated code support, contributing to a unified suite of intelligent services that enhance onboarding, streamline experimentation, and boost research productivity across the FABRIC ecosystem. Together, these efforts mark a significant step toward delivering seamless, automated assistance within sophisticated research environments, empowering users to focus more deeply on innovative, high-impact experimentation.
The session will conclude with a live Q&A, giving attendees an opportunity to engage directly with the development team.
Register Here
Presenters
Mami Hayashida
Mami Hayashida is a research software and infrastructure engineer at the University of Kentucky, where she has worked in ITS Research Computing Infrastructure since 2018. With expertise spanning networking, databases, machine learning, and AI-enabled applications, she contributes to major grant-funded projects including FABRIC and the Digital Restoration Initiative. She also serves as a Ceph storage administrator and assists researchers with their large dataset storage needs. Mami earned her master’s in Computer Science in 2017 after a decade-long career as a music professor. She is passionate about mentoring student researchers, having guided numerous students over the past few years, many of whom have presented successfully at conferences and advanced to graduate school or industry positions.
Joshna Kurra
I’m a graduate student in my second semester, studying Data Science. I’ve been on the FABRIC team for almost 2 years now, and my primary contribution has been building the QA tool, experimenting with a code generation tool and building an MCP server for FABRIC. My latest work building an MCP server focuses on automating resource management in FABRIC so that the platform becomes more user-friendly. I’m passionate about leveraging AI to build domain-specific AI applications, and I enjoy learning new things—whether it’s new hobbies or skills in data science. Some of my favorite things to do are spending time with friends and family and reading.
Alex Raketich
My name is Alex Raketich, and I’m a senior Computer Science major at the University of Kentucky working as a research assistant for the FABRIC testbed. For the last several months, I have been working with Joshna Kurra and Mami Hayashida to create and refine a Q&A tool that uses retrieval-augmented generation to help users quickly find reliable answers across FABRIC documentation and community resources. My interests include cybersecurity, machine learning, and red teaming. I am completing both the university’s Cybersecurity Certificate and the AI Certificate, with coursework in artificial intelligence, cryptology, computer/network security, and machine learning. Working with FABRIC has strengthened my technical skills and given me hands-on experience building tools that support researchers and educators in a large, distributed testbed environment.