Building AI Research Agents with Claude

Building AI Research Agents with Claude: From Chatbot to Autonomous Workflow

Abstract:

Large language models have moved beyond question-answering. The emerging paradigm of agentic AI equips models with tools, memory, and the ability to plan and execute multistep tasks autonomously, transforming them from passive assistants into active collaborators that can read papers, write and run code, query databases, and iterate toward a goal without human intervention at every step.

This hands-on workshop introduces participants to the principles and practice of building AI agents using the Anthropic Claude API. It covers the core architecture of modern agents, tool use, the ReAct (Reasoning + Acting) loop, structured outputs, and multi-agent orchestration, and grounds each concept in a scientific research context. Through progressive exercises, participants will build a working research assistant agent that accepts a research question, reads and synthesizes provided literature, executes analytical subtasks, and produces a structured report. The workshop concludes with a discussion of multi-agent pipelines and practical patterns for integrating agents into real research workflows.

Objectives:

• Understand what distinguishes an AI agent from a chatbot: tool use, planning, and autonomous multistep execution.
• Learn the ReAct reasoning loop and how Claude uses it to decompose complex tasks.
• Define and register custom tools (paper reader, code executor, note taker) using the Anthropic Python SDK.
• Build and run a complete research assistant agent on Midway3 that autonomously synthesizes literature and produces a structured report.
• Explore multi-agent orchestration patterns and identify opportunities to apply agents in your own research.

Presenter: Mohsen Zand

Level: Intermediate

Duration: 2 hours

Prerequisites: Active UChicago Claude Enterprise subscription. Basic Python familiarity. No prior machine learning background required. Participants should bring laptops with SSH access to Midway3.