Smith Students Create AI Bot for Public Good

A UMD student-created AI chatbot aimed at alleviating food insecurity has quickly gained attention nationwide.

Smith marketing major Arden Lawson, Class of ’27, computer engineering and public policy double major Amira Abujuma, Class of ’27, and Saurav Vidyadhara CMNS ’25, programmed an AI-powered voice assistant for Capital Area Food Bank. They entered the chatbot in the university-wide AI and Food Insecurity Case Competition, co-hosted by Smith’s Center for AI in Business, and were selected as one of five winning groups, receiving $2,500.

Accessible in multiple languages, the chatbot helps users find the nearest food pantry, its hours and its delivery options. It also points to other resources, including clothing closets and shelters. Most importantly, the chatbot is available 24/7, alleviating stress to Capital Area Food Bank’s staffed line, which is only available during weekday business hours. The team will install their chatbot as interns at Capital Area Food Bank this semester.

The contest was the brainchild of Wedad Elmaghraby, Smith’s senior associate dean for faculty, who partnered with the center’s director Balaji Padmanabhan and UMD College of Information professor Vanessa Frias-Martinez.

In addition to their case competition victory, the team demonstrated their voice bot during AI for Public Good: UMD Demo Day, which showcased the university’s AI innovation to the media. A month later, they were featured in a CBS News interview.

“It’s so wonderful when our students translate what they learn in the classroom and contribute their own personalities and thoughts in those actions. It underscores the very purpose of institutions of higher learning,” says Elmaghraby. “We love to see our students do something impactful.”