Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 9 minutes ago
Anahita Khojandi is building artificial intelligence systems based on a human-centered philosophy in fields including health care and engineering. These systems are advancing new approaches for detecting sepsis, building care plans for chronic disease patients, and translating dense information.
“AI systems do what they’re designed to do,” explains Khojandi, a professor of industrial and systems engineering and the Heath Endowed Faculty Fellow in Business and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “They are not necessarily built to understand context, values, or subtle factors that go into our decision-making processes. That’s why I think humans need to firmly stay at the center of any system we design.”
Khojandi developed a course in applied data science at UT in which her students work with complex real-world datasets from partners including the Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee Medical Center, and industry collaborators.
Learn more about Khojandi’s research: https://research.utk.edu/oried/2026/02/25/research-rock-stars-anahita-khojandi-puts-people-at-the-center-of-ai-innovation/
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#utknoxville is on your favorite social media channels:
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/utknoxville
X: twitter.com/UTKnoxville
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/UTKnoxville
See what’s happening at https://www.utk.edu.
MusicBed Sync ID: MB016NI6FLUGETC
Anahita Khojandi is building artificial intelligence systems based on a human-centered philosophy in fields including health care and engineering. These systems are advancing new approaches for detecting sepsis, building care plans for chronic disease patients, and translating dense information.
“AI systems do what they’re designed to do,” explains Khojandi, a professor of industrial and systems engineering and the Heath Endowed Faculty Fellow in Business and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “They are not necessarily built to understand context, values, or subtle factors that go into our decision-making processes. That’s why I think humans need to firmly stay at the center of any system we design.”
Khojandi developed a course in applied data science at UT in which her students work with complex real-world datasets from partners including the Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee Medical Center, and industry collaborators.
Learn more about Khojandi’s research: https://research.utk.edu/oried/2026/02/25/research-rock-stars-anahita-khojandi-puts-people-at-the-center-of-ai-innovation/
================
Go Vols!
#utknoxville is on your favorite social media channels:
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/utknoxville
X: twitter.com/UTKnoxville
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/UTKnoxville
See what’s happening at https://www.utk.edu.
MusicBed Sync ID: MB016NI6FLUGETC
