Cornell’s AI Initiative supports university faculty, staff, and students as they explore models to optimize the use of generative AI for practical purposes. On January 22, 2025, eight local teams stunned a hybrid audience with presentations proving generative AI applications could simplify and solve problems that previously required intense manual effort. Each project team was led by one or two faculty or staff members and supported by students from the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers CIS).