Big ideas don鈥檛 wait 鈥� and neither do the researchers behind them.

The 2026 Reach for the Stars honorees 鈥� six 麻豆原创 assistant professors 鈥� are already making a substantial impact on their respective fields through meaningful research and creative work that extends far beyond campus, with national and international influence.

Across disciplines, their work and research reflect a shared mission to advance ideas into impact 鈥� uncovering what shapes ethical decision-making in the workplace; exploring the origins of our solar system; developing computational solutions to meet future energy demands; designing more intuitive and reliable software experiences; strengthening education for students with disabilities; and engineering faster, more energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Together, this brilliant group represents the kind of bold, forward-thinking innovation 麻豆原创 continues to champion.

Each year, the Reach for the Stars awards recognize early-career faculty opening new doors for what鈥檚 possible across their fields. The prestigious award is second only to Pegasus Professor as 麻豆原创鈥檚 highest faculty honor.

In recognition of their achievements, each honoree will receive a $10,000 annual research grant for three years in addition to the distinction of being an award recipient.

The 麻豆原创 community is cordially invited to come and congratulate the recipients from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in the Pegasus Ballroom at the Student Union as part of the 2026 Founders鈥� Day Faculty Honors Celebration.

This year鈥檚 Reach for the Stars honorees are:

John Bush

Assistant professor of management in the College of Business

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

Working at 麻豆原创 is a homecoming for me. Growing up in Florida, I had the opportunity to experience all the great things this state and its universities have to offer. And while my younger self might not have predicted I’d end up in Black & Gold, 麻豆原创 and Orlando have been incredible homes.

What does your research focus on?

I study when, why, and how employees cross ethical lines, and what role leaders, management policies, and organizational systems play in those decisions. A big part of what makes my work unique is that I focus on an important puzzle: how things we typically think of as “good” can promote unethical behavior. We tend to assume that well-intentioned management practices will always lead to good outcomes. However, my research shows that’s not always the case, and the unintended consequences can be significant.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

Before I entered academia, I worked in corporate finance and accounting. That experience meaningfully shaped how I think about ethics in organizations.

There’s a common assumption that unethical behavior is a 鈥渂ad apple鈥� problem, or rather, that it comes down to an individual’s character or integrity. But as my work has shown, it’s often a 鈥渂ad barrel鈥� problem. The environments organizations create, the systems they put in place and the ways managers approach leadership profoundly influence how people behave.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

I’m a firm believer that the people make the place 鈥� and the faculty, staff and students of 麻豆原创 are truly what make it such a great place to be. The College of Business has a management department full of colleagues who are both excellent scholars and genuinely collaborative people.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

I’m excited about several new directions, each of which builds upon my existing work. I’m particularly interested in examining more nuanced, less studied drivers of ethical decision-making. For example, what happens when someone becomes an accidental witness to unethical behavior? How does that experience shape what they do next and the moral burden that鈥檚 placed on them?

Ana Carolina de Souza-Feliciano

Assistant professor at the

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

While many people know I鈥檓 not afraid to face challenges, few know that I鈥檓 afraid of roller coasters.

What does your research focus on?

I study the small bodies of our solar system (objects such as asteroids, Trojans and trans-Neptunian objects) from an observational perspective to try to understand how our planetary system formed and evolved. The small bodies that remain from the early solar system still preserve clues about the materials and conditions that existed when planets formed. By observing their surfaces, compositions and physical properties, we can piece together the history of how the solar system came to be.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

The solar system still holds many unanswered questions, and every observation has the potential to reveal something completely new about its history. I鈥檓 especially motivated by the idea that these small and distant objects preserve a record of the earliest stages of planetary formation, and since we still don鈥檛 know much about them, we need to better characterize these groups to have a chance of getting closer to important scientific answers.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

麻豆原创 provides a dynamic research environment with strong collaborations and access to facilities that help me achieve my scientific goals.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

I aim to expand my research group and continue developing new projects exploring the composition and physical properties of small bodies in the outer solar system.

Shyam Kattel

Assistant professor of physics in the College of Sciences

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

I enjoy long, quiet walks or runs. It鈥檚 when I do my best thinking and come up with new ideas for teaching and research.

What does your research focus on?

My research group is interested in understanding chemical processes through computer simulations. These chemical processes are central to many energy and fuel generation and energy conversion processes. We are exploring the design of catalytic materials that selectively convert abundant small molecules, such as CO2, N2, NO3, O2 and H2O, to a wide variety of synthetic chemicals and fuels in a carbon-neutral way to fulfill the growing energy demand of the future.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

I鈥檓 a huge advocate of sustainability. I鈥檓 fascinated by the rapid development and advancement of modern computers, machine learning (ML) and AI, which have enabled us to understand complex science on a time scale that鈥檚 impossible with traditional trial and error methods. This unique opportunity to utilize supercomputers with ML and AI to tackle energy and sustainability challenges keeps me awake at night.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

By training, I鈥檓 a physicist, but my research focuses on looking into chemical reactions. 麻豆原创鈥檚 physics department is among a handful of institutions in the U.S. with a very strong catalysis program. This allows me to collaborate within the department and teach a physics course, which I enjoy. Additionally, the university鈥檚 large size and research facilities present opportunities to recruit the best students and to collaborate both within and beyond the department.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

My lab is developing capabilities to integrate ML and AI into our methods for understanding structure-materials property relationships across a large set of materials, driving the development of the next generation of clean and sustainable energy and fuel generation technologies. Our goal is to develop an integrated materials design framework that anyone can use for their research and for teaching research-based undergraduate and graduate courses.

Kevin Moran

Assistant professor of computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, director of the Software Automation, Generation and Engineering Research Lab and affiliate of the Cyber Security and Privacy faculty cluster initiative

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

I was a Division 1 rower as an undergraduate at the College of the Holy Cross. Our team competed in the national championship regatta my senior year and was ranked among the top 20 teams in the country.

What does your research focus on?

If you鈥檝e ever been frustrated by glitches in apps or websites, my students, collaborators and I aim to give engineers the tools they need to build more reliable software. My group has pioneered work in user interface engineering, focusing on user-facing systems and making software easier to use.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

Since I was young, I鈥檝e enjoyed building things, taking them apart and understanding how they work. I view software as the ultimate engineering medium, where abstract ideas can quickly become reality. What excites me most is tackling the complexity of modern software systems by developing tools that engineers can easily adopt. Seeing those tools save engineers hours or days of time is truly fun.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

麻豆原创 has been an excellent place to grow as an early-career researcher. I鈥檝e received invaluable mentorship from department and college leadership, as well as senior faculty. The university鈥檚 connection to the local tech industry is also exciting, and I look forward to forming connections with local companies to put our tools into practice.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

Software engineering is rapidly shifting toward agentic workflows, where AI-powered agents perform engineering tasks autonomously. While this increases speed, it also introduces complex errors that are harder to spot. My lab aims to understand these software engineering agents, improve their reliability and create tools that help developers use them effectively.

Soyoung Park

Assistant professor of teacher education in the College of Community Innovation and Education (CCIE)

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

When I travel for conferences, I love to explore local bookstores and cafes.

What does your research focus on?

My research focuses on transforming educator preparation to better support students with disabilities. Supported by more than $3.75 million in U.S. Department of Education funding, my work prepares special education teachers, speech-language pathologists and school psychologists to serve students with autism spectrum disorders and high-intensity needs. I also develop evidence-based mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

Mathematics remains an area where both research and practice need stronger alignment. Teachers need accessible, evidence-based guidance on how to teach effectively, but it isn鈥檛 always easy to find or interpret. Students need consistent access to high-quality instruction that meets their individual needs. I鈥檓 interested in helping bridge that gap so that research can better support educators and the students they serve.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

麻豆原创鈥檚 strong infrastructure for research and collaboration further amplifies my work. Support from the Office of Research has been instrumental in advancing my research development, grant capacity and interdisciplinary collaboration. As a CCIE research fellow and affiliated faculty member at the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute, I have valuable opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration across colleges.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

Our next project focuses on synthesizing large data sets to help educators identify mathematics interventions that align with their students鈥� needs. We鈥檙e also exploring how AI can support this process through pedagogical AI chatbots and interactive web-based platforms that guide educators in interpreting and applying research evidence in practice. Ultimately, this work aims to strengthen both instruction and student outcomes at scale.

Hao Zheng

Assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science

What鈥檚 something few people know about you?

I enjoy traveling, especially visiting national parks and exploring new cities. Each trip helps me recharge, and I often come back with fresh perspectives and new ideas.

What does your research focus on?

My research focuses on making today鈥檚 AI systems faster, more energy-efficient and more reliable by bridging the gap between algorithms and hardware. AI has reshaped daily life, but behind the scenes, modern AI models require enormous amounts of computation and energy. My work explores new ways to co-design hardware and software so AI can run efficiently, especially for irregular or sparse data structures, such as graphs.

What drives you to take on this challenge?

I鈥檓 driven by both the importance and the difficulty of the problem. We鈥檙e at the turning point of rethinking future computing systems. Defining a new computing paradigm, despite its challenges, can have a far-reaching impact across society. Our research can fundamentally reshape how future computers are designed and how AI is deployed at scale.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place for you to do this kind of work?

麻豆原创 is an ideal place to pursue bold research ideas, supported by strong momentum in engineering, computing and interdisciplinary collaboration. The university also offers an exceptional and supportive community of mentors and collaborators, including students, who set a high bar for excellence. I鈥檝e been fortunate to work with many outstanding colleagues, and those experiences have shaped how I think about building a high-impact research program and growing as a scholar.

What鈥檚 next for you or your research?

Next, we鈥檙e expanding our work toward real-world deployments, including applications in healthcare and robotics. We鈥檙e also continuing to strengthen our research in building processors for AI and scientific computing so that our ideas can translate into improvements in performance and energy efficiency.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Solihin to its 2025 class of fellows 鈥� a distinction awarded to just 71 professionals worldwide for their remarkable achievements, technical innovations and lasting contributions to the field.

Selected from ACM鈥檚 100,000 members, the new fellows will be formally inducted at the ACM Awards Banquet in June.

For Solihin, the recognition represents something deeper than a title.

鈥淏eing one out of 71 selected for this designation worldwide in 2025, I feel deeply honored,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his recognition is the culmination of decades of research in computer architecture, with contributions from my former and current Ph.D. students and collaborators.鈥�

A Pioneer in Computer Architecture

Long before today鈥檚 cloud-powered, security-conscious computing era, Solihin was asking questions others weren鈥檛.

In the early 2000s, as research focused on single-core processors, he turned his attention to multicore systems and uncovered a hidden flaw. His research group identified a critical performance challenge in shared cache architecture: uneven slowdowns caused by cache sharing. When multiple programs run simultaneously and share a common cache, some slow down more than others due to resource limitations.

鈥淚 feel deeply humbled because, at the time I chose to work on these problems, it was not clear how important they would turn out to be.”

Groundbreaking when it emerged in 2003, this phenomenon is now widely known and studied by computer scientists. Solihin and his group coined the term 鈥渇air cache sharing鈥� and introduced a technique to partition the cache so programs slow down equally, ultimately improving overall performance. They also coined the term 鈥渃ache quality of service,鈥� advocating for cache policies that enable differentiated performance levels. Solihin also pioneered research on secure processors, which allow applications to run in an environment protected from vulnerabilities in system software.

Today, those once-theoretical ideas are foundational. Cache partitioning and secure processors are now standard features in graphics processing units and central processing units, particularly those powering cloud computing systems worldwide.

鈥淚 feel deeply humbled because, at the time I chose to work on these problems, it was not clear how important they would turn out to be,鈥� Solihin says. 鈥淚 started working on 鈥� cache partitioning when the hot research topics of the day were single-core processors. I started working in secure execution environment design when it was still unclear if hardware architecture should play a major role in computer security.鈥�

Making an Impact in Industry and Education

After earning his doctorate in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Solihin worked as a professor at North Carolina State University. He then joined the U.S. National Science Foundation, where he served as a program director for secure and trustworthy research on cyberspace and computer systems.

When he joined 麻豆原创 in 2018, that bold ambition and pioneering spirit came with him.

As director of the at 麻豆原创, Solihin helped expand the university鈥檚 research footprint and developed the Cyber Security and Privacy master鈥檚 program within the Department of Computer Science. Under his leadership, the program has grown to 200 students, the research cluster has added 13 faculty members and his findings have been incorporated into the computer processing industry鈥檚 design and development of computer architecture.

Yet Solihin doesn鈥檛 claim any of these achievements as his greatest.

鈥淭he achievement I am the proudest of is the positive impact I have made on students that I have advised,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ome of my past students have established good careers of their own, including becoming professors at Oxford University, Northeastern University, UC Santa Cruz and Binghamton University.鈥�

By strengthening skills in algebra, trigonometry and pre-calculus, Math Launch enables students to become calculus-ready in just one semester through a boot camp-style course.

鈥淢ath Launch is removing barriers and helping more STEM students stay on track,鈥� says 麻豆原创 Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs John Buckwalter. 鈥淭his unique program aligns analytics, instruction and coaching to meet students where they are and move them faster toward earning their degrees.鈥�

Math Launch changes students’ trajectory. In Fall 2023, 64% of Math Launch participants became calculus-ready in a single semester.

For engineering and STEM disciplines, Calculus I is the expected entry point. Yet, in 2019鈥�20, 43% of aspiring engineers and scientists needed one to four prerequisite math courses (intermediate algebra, college algebra, precalculus or trigonometry) before qualifying.

Students who were not calculus-ready had only a 15.9% four-year graduation rate, with many deciding to leave their engineering major altogether. In contrast, calculus-ready students graduated in four years at nearly 48%.

A Supportive Pathway to Student Success

The program builds on the proven model, expanding it into a full academic term. Students benefit from dedicated faculty and peer learning assistants who provide personalized guidance. They use an adaptive learning platform that tailor instruction to each student鈥檚 needs. The flexible pacing allows students to progress at their own speed. And, the program is cost efficient for students, since multiple prerequisite courses are condensed into one Math Launch class.

鈥淪tudents becoming calculus-ready sooner increases retention and decreases time to degree,鈥� says 麻豆原创鈥檚 Executive Director for 聽Melissa Dagley. 鈥淭hey are more likely to remain in their STEM major, saving both time and money, and are prepared sooner to enter the workforce.鈥�

For computer science major Jack Livingston, Math Launch was transformative. He knew math would be the hurdle that could slow him down as he began to take courses in his major at 麻豆原创. Like many aspiring engineers and scientists, Livingston needed more math courses to get to Calculus I, the gateway course for most STEM disciplines. But thanks to Math Launch, he not only caught up and surged ahead, but he also became a peer advisor for other students in the program.

鈥淭he program was a game-changer for me,鈥� Livingston says. 鈥淚t accelerated my progress in math and gave me the tools and support to stay on track with my cohort. The confidence and connections I built carried into higher-level courses and even my professional internship.鈥�

Livingston credits Math Launch with helping him prepare for a cybersecurity internship in New York City and freeing up time to explore electives like personal finance.

Successful Outcomes

In the 2023 pilot cohort, 29% of students became calculus-ready by the end of the first term. By 2024, that number jumped to 62% in one semester.

According to Dagley, Math Launch students achieved an 85% Calculus I pass rate, higher than peers on the traditional pathway. Participants took fewer credits overall, saving tuition and accelerating graduation timelines.

By accelerating readiness for Calculus I, Math Launch directly supports 麻豆原创鈥檚 mission to help students graduate on time, remain in STEM majors, and enter the workforce prepared and ready for real world challenges.

鈥淲ithout Math Launch, I鈥檇 be way behind,鈥� says Livingston, set to graduate in May. 鈥淚t let me tackle difficult classes early and stay on track for graduation.鈥�

While this sounds like the setting for a sci-fi novel, it鈥檚 actually the hometown of Assistant Professor Kirill Medvedev, a new faculty member in the . Medvedev grew up in Akademgorodok, which literally translates to 鈥淎cademic Town,鈥� a place that sparked his interest in bioinformatics and inspired his career.

鈥淭he constant exposure to open, curiosity-driven inquiry made the language of science feel as natural as the Siberian forest around us,鈥� Medvedev says. 鈥淢y passion for bioinformatics and computational biology was ignited by a fascination with three-dimensional protein structures. I realized that computational approaches are indispensable for decoding life鈥檚 molecular machines, and it set me on the path toward research in the field of computational structural biology and bioinformatics.鈥�

Medvedev鈥檚 work focuses on the classification and analysis of large-scale biomedical data sets that span the molecular, cellular and tissue levels. With that expertise, he is teaching a Discrete Mathematics course at 麻豆原创 this fall. He says he hopes to instill both practical and technical knowledge in his students.

鈥淚 hope to share with my students not only the course knowledge but also my experience of being a scientist.”

鈥淚 believe that integrity is the defining characteristic of a scientist,鈥� he says.

Medvedev鈥檚 work focuses on the classification and analysis of large-scale biomedical data sets that span the molecular, cellular and tissue levels. Within the past decade, he developed the DrugDomain database, which lists the domain features of human proteins that are targets for small molecules and drugs. He augmented the DrugDomain database with artificial intelligence鈥憄owered protein structure prediction, creating a first鈥憃f鈥慽ts鈥慿ind resource that maps thousands of post鈥憈ranslational modifications to their drug targets across the human proteome. He also uses computational modeling to analyze variations within cancer types and employs deep learning methods to identify cancer subtypes.

The opportunity to collaborate with the next generation of scientists, as well as established colleagues, is what Medvedev says drew him to 麻豆原创.

“I was interested in the 麻豆原创 because it鈥檚 such a dynamic and fast-growing research hub 鈥� one that actively promotes collaboration among researchers.”

鈥淭oday, truly groundbreaking science cannot be done by one person, or even one lab, but only through collaboration among multidisciplinary teams,鈥� Medvedev says.

Medvedev earned his doctoral degree in mathematical biology and bioinformatics from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in 2015. Following that, he鈥檚 worked with Professor Nick Grishin at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as a postdoctoral researcher.

Doctoral students with strong computational skills who are interested in working with Medvedev can contact him by email. Basic understanding of molecular or structural biology or biochemistry is beneficial but not required.

Led by 麻豆原创 Professor of Biology and developed by undergraduate students, the new game blends research with interactive learning.

鈥淢y work on parasitic wasps and their symbiotic viruses forms the foundation for the game and other outreach efforts designed to engage the public with biology in a fun and accessible way,鈥� Sharanowski says.

The game was created by computer science senior students as part of their capstone project under the supervision of Associate Lecturer of Computer Science Matthew Gerber, with Sharanowski providing the concept. It represents the second phase of development, with an earlier senior group of students building the original concept and the second group advancing it into a fully playable desktop version.

鈥淭he students coded, designed and refined the game, which was initially envisioned as a virtual reality experience but shifted to a desktop game 聽due to delays from the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� Sharanowski says.

In the game, players take on the role of scientists tasked with protecting a national park by designing custom wasps to control invasive pests.

鈥淭he goal as a scientist is to save the park by releasing specially designed wasps with beneficial features like paralytic venom, long ovipositors or even mind control, that make them more effective at targeting host species such as caterpillars, beetles and aphids,鈥� she says.

Along the way, players encounter educational blurbs that explain these traits and reinforce the idea that not all wasps sting and many are actually beneficial to humans and ecosystems.

鈥淭hese wasps can be endoparasitic, developing inside their host, or ectoparasitic, developing outside the host,鈥� Sharanowski says. 鈥淵ou can find them all around the world, including in our backyards, and they serve an important role in nature as natural agents of pest control, thereby reducing the need for pesticides.鈥�

The project was funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 (NSF) Rules of Life Initiative, which brings together multiple NSF divisions to address the fundamental questions about how living systems function and evolve.

According to Sharanowski, parasitic wasps are one of the most varied lineages on Earth, with more species than all vertebrates combined.

鈥淔or every insect that鈥檚 out there, there鈥檚 likely one or more parasitic wasps that attack it,鈥� she says.

Her research explores the unique symbiosis between wasps and viruses.

鈥淥ver time, some viruses have become integrated into the genomes of certain parasitic wasps, effectively making the virus and wasp a single organism,鈥� Sharanowski says. 鈥淭he virus no longer replicates independently 鈥� its reproduction is tied to the wasp鈥檚. When a female wasp lays an egg inside a host, the virions enter the host and activate viral genes that manipulate the host鈥檚 immune system and behavior, benefiting the developing wasp.鈥�

This wasp-virus relationship has evolved multiple times and remains a central focus of her research.

As a first-generation college graduate, Sharanowski says this project has been a way to share her passion for entomology and science, as well as to provide educational opportunities for people to learn about wasps in a fun way.

鈥淥ne of my core values as an educator is to make science engaging,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 enjoy doing campus and community outreach to show how fascinating these insects are, and I believe this game does that.鈥�

She also highlighted 麻豆原创鈥檚 Collection of Arthropods, commonly known as the , as a public resource preserving and showcasing the biodiversity of insects in Central Florida.

Looking ahead, Sharanowski says a third group of students is currently working on a mobile version of the game, expected to launch later this year.

鈥淭here is so much beauty out there, and I want people to see how fascinating bugs are and the important role they play in ecosystems,鈥� she says.

All five awardees teach and conduct research through 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), and together their funding totals an estimated $3 million to advance real world technologies and positively impact the world.

The annual award program from NSF supports an estimated 500 early-career STEM faculty nationwide from either institutes of higher education or academic nonprofit organizations who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Since the program launched in FY 1995, nearly 100 麻豆原创 faculty have qualified for NSF CAREER grants, generating more than $40 million in research funding. It has supported a pathway to implement their research through 麻豆原创鈥檚 Office of Technology Transfer, which helps bring discoveries to the marketplace through licensing 麻豆原创 technologies and providing information about sponsored research opportunities.

麻豆原创 Associate Professors Sidong Lei and Truong Nghiem along with Assistant Professors Kevin Moran, Wen Shen and Hao Zheng continue to accelerate research in their respective fields through their NSF CAREER projects.

Studying Specialized Semiconductors

Sidong Lei

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

NanoScience Technology Center (NTSC)

Project Title: Van der Waals Semiconductor Integration via Surface and Interface Tailoring

Award: A total of $516,085 over five years, with $449,136 over three years at 麻豆原创

Sidong Lei endeavors to meet the demand for better materials to help make smaller devices run more efficiently.

鈥淲e all want our phones, smartwatches and laptops to be lighter, faster and more powerful,鈥� says Lei, an associate professor of materials science and engineering. 鈥淭o make that happen, we need to shrink the size of the electronic circuits so that more components, such as transistors, which are tiny switches for computing, can fit onto a single chip.鈥�

Lei researches new methods of developing innovative microelectronics by studying electronic and optoelectronic properties of emerging materials.

鈥淎s we push the limits of traditional silicon technology into the sub-10 nanometer range, it becomes extremely difficulty to make the chips even smaller,鈥� he says. 鈥淎t the same time, new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are demanding faster speeds, lower energy use and many more. All these make current microelectronics struggle and urge new materials and device architecture.鈥�

Through the NSF CAREER award he received in 2023 and brought with him to 麻豆原创 the following year, Lei is exploring how Van der Waals semiconductors may be integrated at the 3D level versus the 2D level. These specialized semiconductors represent a major frontier in materials science, offering a path to ultrathin, flexible and high-performance electronic and photonic devices鈥� pushing beyond the limits of traditional bulk semiconductors such as silicon.

鈥淭he question is how can we produce functional devices with these materials?鈥� Lei says. 鈥淥ther than fundamental investigations, we want to see our explorations and innovations find practical applications in critical fields. My research aims to find pathways towards this purpose.鈥�

His NSF CAREER project, much like the advanced materials he studies, integrates well with his group鈥檚 portfolio of research and translates into real-world applications.

鈥淲e are developing methods to fabricate very large-scale integration circuit based on 2D materials and looking for strategies to combine them with mature silicon technology to further enhance their functionality,鈥� Lei says. 鈥淲e are also investigating strategies to fabricate very-large-scale integrated circuits in flexible and stretchable packaging materials. This research will allow us to implement next-generation wearable and implantable electronics devices for health monitoring and disease treatment, for example, on Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥�

The vast opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to advance research at 麻豆原创 were a significant factor in Lei鈥檚 decision to expanding his career here.

鈥溌槎乖� offers a comprehensive platform to elevate my research,鈥� he says. 鈥淢odern scientific and technological challenges are typically highly complex, requiring the integration of expertise from different fields. The integration is truly happening here. Only a few months after joining, I have already become acquainted with many new colleagues who are experts in their respective fields, continually refreshing my perspective.鈥�

Lei considers his triumph in earning an NSF CAREER award funding a shared effort, and he credits 麻豆原创 and his colleagues for their unwavering support and guidance.

鈥淭he award represents a meaningful confirmation from my peers of my efforts and endeavors,鈥� he says. 鈥淗owever, the most enjoyable and exciting part was the journey itself, which included deciding on research directions, building a research team and then gradually generating results.鈥�

Improving User Interface Experiences

Kevin Moran

Department of Computer Science

Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster

Project Title: Enhanced UI Engineering via Automated Semantic Screen Understanding

Award: $582,308 over five years

Whether it鈥檚 a smart phone or a computer, the user interface (UI) is a critical gateway for people interacting with software and technology.

An intuitive UI can make a world of difference to new users and ultimately be the deciding factor for users when it comes to feeling comfortable with technology, says Kevin Moran, assistant professor of computer science.

His research group at 麻豆原创 aims to make it easier for software engineers to build complex yet user-friendly systems that translate into practical use.

鈥淢ore aspects of daily life rely on software than at any point in human history,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom banking to social media, the importance of the quality of the software that we interact with on a daily basis has never been more important. My lab at 麻豆原创 aims to help provide engineers the tools that they need to wrangle this complexity, using machine learning, program analysis, and careful tool design.鈥�

Through his Software Automation, Generation, and Engineering (SAGE) Lab, Moran and his research group help simplify the difficulties engineers may face in building and troubleshooting such complicated systems. His research tackles two challenges in software engineering: making issue tracking (also known as bug reporting) more robust and improving the UI engineering process.

UI engineering is the practice of developing, testing and managing UI software, which is an emerging topic his group specializes in, and it is the focus of his newly awarded NSF CAREER project.

鈥淢y team and I have done quite a bit of work on UI engineering, a research area we pioneered,鈥� Moran says. 鈥淏uilding the user interfaces for software has long been documented to be a particularly challenging task. My team and I were among the first to combine program analysis, computer vision, and machine learning techniques to develop tools to help aid developers in engineering high quality UIs.鈥�

His project focuses on automating tedious tasks for software engineers through artificial intelligence (AI). The proposed AI model will learn from UI interactions, understand UI features, and automatically translate them to code for engineers.

Ultimately, this may save software engineers time and increase their efficiency in developing UIs, Moran says.

鈥淥ur aim with this work is to get our developed programming tools to software engineers so that they can improve the quality of the UIs they are building,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or the general public that uses software, this means UIs that are easier to use and contain fewer bugs.鈥�

The path to earning such a prestigious grant like the NSF CAREER award requires a high level of detail and Moran says receiving one is incredibly gratifying.

鈥淐AREER proposals are rigorously reviewed by other scientists in my area of research, and receiving the grant is tremendous validation for a very ambitious future research agenda related to improving UI engineering,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his award will fund students who will be working on projects to help make it easier for developers to build high quality user interfaces, so that hopefully in the future, we can reduce the frustrating interactions that users may have when interacting with software.鈥�

Moran says 麻豆原创 provided a space for professional growth. The university鈥檚 vast resources, which include welcoming and collaborative faculty, helped to further hone his skills that ultimately led to receiving his NSF CAREER award.

鈥淏eing a part of this academic community lead to the formation of some of the ideas in my proposal and I am excited to be a part of computer science at 麻豆原创, particularly as we expand our department and expertise in AI,鈥� Moran says. 鈥淐ECS has a CAREER mentoring program where I was paired with senior scientists in my area of work who were able to give me early feedback on my proposal. They helped me to refine the plan of work and gave me invaluable suggestions. 麻豆原创 played a key part in my success for this award鈥�

Machine Learning Guidance to Make Smart Systems Even Smarter

Truong Nghiem

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title: Composite Physics-Informed Learning of Dynamics Systems

Award: $477,585 over five years

Associate Professor Truong Nghiem came to 麻豆原创 in Fall 2024, bringing expertise in machine learning and autonomous systems.

His research focuses on developing new methods that blend machine learning with physical principles to improve complex systems such as autonomous vehicles, smart buildings and industrial automation systems.

鈥淢y work aims to help create the intelligent, autonomous systems of the future鈥攕ystems that will enhance productivity, improve safety, and make everyday life more convenient and sustainable,鈥� says Nghiem, whose research group is called the intelligent Cyber-Physical Systems (iCPS) Lab. 鈥淚 specialize in intelligent cyber-physical systems 鈥� engineered systems that seamlessly integrate the cyber world, which includes computation, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), with the physical world, which includes mechanical and dynamic systems like vehicles, buildings and robots.鈥�

His CAREER project, which he transferred from his previous university, directly supports his ongoing efforts and broadens the scope of his machine learning research.

鈥淭his research aims to create a composite physics-informed machine learning (CPIML) framework,鈥� Nghiem says. 鈥淧hysics-informed machine learning (PIML) embeds the laws of physics into the learning process, leading to models that are more accurate, physically consistent and interpretable compared to traditional machine learning approaches. CPIML takes this a step further by enabling the composition of both physics-based models and PIML components 鈥� along with their physical properties 鈥� to model more complex, large-scale systems.鈥�

Applications of machine learning that may be integrated into everyday life include improved response times of autonomous vehicles and robots, smarter energy systems that optimize energy use and temperature control, and more reliable industrial robotic systems that require minimal supervision.

Nghiem says he strives for his research to not only provide foundational knowledge but to also have a direct impact on real technologies that people are using right now.

鈥淎s our world becomes increasingly automated, ensuring that systems are safe, efficient and trustworthy isn鈥檛 just a scientific goal 鈥� it鈥檚 a societal necessity,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have developed efficient models for HVAC systems in buildings that improve energy management, and I’ve also worked on predictive models for autonomous racing cars, pushing the boundaries of what AI can do in dynamic, high-speed environments.鈥�

Like the complex systems Nghiem studies, a university鈥檚 network of resources should be robust and reliable. He says he鈥檚 fortunate that his research fits perfectly into 麻豆原创鈥檚 supportive interdisciplinary ecosystem.

鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 commitment is evident through initiatives like the and the ,鈥� Nghiem says. 鈥淭his work also underscores the importance of combining knowledge from different domains, bringing together AI, engineering and physics to create solutions for real-world problems.鈥�

Elevating Rare Earth Elements to Make Powerful Magnets

Wen Shen

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)

NanoScience Technology Center

Project Title: Manufacturing of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets via Three-dimensional Printing and Decomposition of Hydrogels

Award: $697,264 over five years

Rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) 鈥� composed of alloys containing rare-earth elements 鈥� are the strongest permanent magnets with numerous applications across aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical devices and renewable energy industries due to their exceptional magnetic properties.

REPMs generate strong magnetic fields through aligned atomic structures, attracting ferromagnetic materials by inducing a magnetic field, enabling them to lift heavy loads, power motors and generate energy in various technologies.

Despite their widespread use, current REPMs manufacturing techniques are energy- intensive, complex and struggle to fabricate magnets with intricate shapes and minimal defects.

That鈥檚 where Wen Shen, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at 麻豆原创, comes in. Her NSF CAREER project aims to develop a new hydrogel-based additive manufacturing process that fabricates high-quality REPMs more efficiently.

The new fabrication process, which uses 3D printing and decomposition of hydrogels containing rare-earth elements, has tremendous potential, Shen says.

鈥淭his research will enable an energy-efficient and laser-free additive manufacturing process that fabricates REPMs with near-zero defects as well as excellent magnetic and mechanical properties,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f successful, the outcome of this research will significantly impact the global REPMs market.鈥�

Shen says she鈥檚 honored to be an NSF CAREER award recipient and continues to elevate her impactful research.

鈥淭he CAREER award allows me to conduct in-depth studies,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t fits well into my career, allowing me to advance my goals as both a researcher and educator while fostering impactful contributions to academia and industry.鈥�

麻豆原创 encourages state-of-the-art research through its resources, educational opportunities and collaborative environment. Shen says that she and her colleagues are grateful for the vast availability of university-wide support that helps advance their research and allows faculty to thrive.

鈥淭he fellowships as well as the research facilities and infrastructure provided by the MAE department, CECS [the College of Engineering and Computer Science] and NSTC [NanoScience Technology Center] to my group allowed me to conduct unique and transformative research that can make potential societal impacts,鈥� Shen says. 鈥淚 would like to acknowledge my department chair, the CECS dean, [and] the NSTC director, who have been very supportive of my research since I joined 麻豆原创.鈥�

New Chips to Keep Pace with Modern Processing Demands

Hao Zheng

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title: A Scalable, Polymorphic, and Efficient Architecture for Irregular and Sparse Computations (APEX)

Award: $550,000 over five years

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, while transformative, has created new challenges for today鈥檚 computing hardware.

Hao Zheng, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, says he鈥檚 determined to navigate these challenges and arrive at solutions. His NSF CAREER project, much like his research, focuses on how to enhance the performance, energy efficiency and utility of chip processors to support the evolving landscape of AI workloads.

鈥淢y research lies in the area of computer architecture and machine learning,鈥� Zheng says. 鈥淚 aim to design versatile chip processors that can greatly speed up machine learning applications with significantly reduced power consumption.鈥�

Creating general-purpose or fully customized chips have been the most common methods of addressing emerging challenges in computational tasks, but both approaches have drawbacks.

Zheng鈥檚 bold solution is to design a chip that can adapt to any applications with various computing tasks. His research group, the Intelligent Computer Architecture and Technology (iCAT) Laboratory, is working to revolutionize current chip architectures, such as graphics processing units (GPUs), to handle the rising complexity of modern AI workloads. These include not just large models but multimodal systems, robotics, simulations and real-time decision-making.

鈥淪pecializing the underlying hardware architecture has become a trending solution to meet the computational demands of modern applications,鈥� Zheng says. 鈥淗owever, current specialized hardware, in the form of accelerators, is either fully customized for regular applications or lacks the generality to support a wide range of applications. However, today鈥檚 applications are evolving rapidly with increasingly complex workloads such as large language models, multi-modal models, embodied AI, among others.鈥�

Some real-world applications of his research can directly affect how robotics, augmented and virtual reality, autonomous driving, simulations and biological discoveries operate.

鈥淭his award will introduce a transformative concept 鈥� the polymorphic chip processor 鈥� to support ubiquitous irregular and complex applications with intensive data,鈥� Zheng says. 鈥淭he research will invent a new class of chip processors, grounded in graph theory, that can dynamically adapt to irregular and complex workloads at runtime. We believe this can have a transformative impact on computer architecture, compilers, scheduling and many other key areas in computing.鈥�

Zheng says his NSF CAREER award is just the beginning of what he can achieve here at 麻豆原创.

鈥淭his honor is a testament to the collective efforts of my entire research team,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 truly appreciate the collaborative research culture here at 麻豆原创. I鈥檝e also benefited greatly from the guidance and encouragement of my colleagues, and I would like to thank our department chair, Dr. Reza Abdolvand, for his support over the past several years. Most importantly, I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with four exceptional Ph.D. students who have grown alongside me throughout this journey.鈥�

Opportunities for growth and enrichment at 麻豆原创 are plenty, Zheng says. Exploring emerging unconventional applications for chips, strengthening educational development and collaborating with industry are three pillars he aspires to focus on and expand as he continues his research.

鈥淔irst, I plan to establish a solid theoretical foundation for irregular application acceleration,鈥� Zheng says. 鈥淪econd, I intend to collaborate with industry to prototype the concept. By the end of the award period, we aim to have a functional chip processor running in the lab, demonstrating the practicality of our idea.鈥�

One of the most important and personal components of his future efforts is his emphasis on education.

鈥淭his is the core mission of both our university and the academic community,鈥� Zheng says. 鈥淎s a first-generation college student, I am aware that a significant number of 麻豆原创 students come from similar backgrounds. I will provide mentorship to both undergraduate and graduate students interested in the chip industry.鈥�

麻豆原创 is No. 1 in Florida and among the top 5% nationally for computer and information sciences expenditures. The university also ranks in the top five in Florida for research backed by several national departments, including:

• No. 2 for NASA funding in Florida 鈥� and top 7% nationally (Up from 9% last year)
• No. 2 for Department of Defense funding in Florida 鈥� and top 11% nationally(Up from 15% last year)
• No. 2 for Department of Energy (DOE) funding in Florida 鈥� and in the top 12% nationally(Up from 20% last year)

Over the year, 麻豆原创鈥檚 projects were tied to several agencies and scientific disciplines:

Computer and Information Sciences

麻豆原创 is first in Florida and among the top 5% nationally
麻豆原创 is one of three universities that are part of a three-year $927,203 grant for advancing future quantum information science (QIS) education by using identifying and addressing misconceptions related to it. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Ryan McMahan is the lead principal investigator for the project and providing an iterative development of QubitVR, a quantum-education VR application. These efforts include the machine-learning-based intelligent tutoring versions of the application, conducting the lab-based studies and evaluating QubitVR through an undergraduate QIS course.

Engineering

麻豆原创 is first in Florida and among the top 14% nationally for aerospace engineering expenditures
麻豆原创 is also third in Florida and among the top 13% nationally for mechanical engineering expenditures
麻豆原创 Pegasus Professor Jayanta Kapat and researchers Marcel Otto and Ladislav Vesely have invented a way to cost-efficiently convert excess renewable energy to hydrogen and oxygen and store it long-term 鈥� days, weeks or even months. Later, when the energy is needed, it鈥檚 reconverted and added to the electrical grid. That on-demand capability enables power companies to meet and balance the energy needs of a community not just from day to day, but from season to season.

Physical Sciences

麻豆原创 is second in Florida and among the top 7% nationally
Charles Schambeau 鈥�18PhD, an assistant scientist with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Florida Space Institute, is working on a new, NASA-funded project that will gather the most comprehensive collection of data on active centaurs and distantly-active Jupiter-family comets to date. The work will inform research into the origins of the solar system, as these bodies contain materials from the dawn of its formation.

Physics

麻豆原创 is second in Florida and among the top 4% nationally
Instead of pigment-based colored paint, which requires artificially synthesized molecules, Debashis Chanda, a professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center, has developed an alternative way to produce colored paint that is more natural, environmentally friendly and lightweight. Chanda鈥檚 interest in structural color and the development of the paint stemmed from the vibrancy of butterflies.

NASA

麻豆原创 is second in Florida and among the top 7% nationally
麻豆原创 received funding designed to foster long-term partnerships between NASA and other institutions and to give eligible research projects the chance to pursue larger grants in the future. Research projects include the development of a wireless multimodal sensor that can monitor conditions such as temperature, pressure, acceleration and airflow. Another project is studying the emissions of sustainable aviation fuels, while a third is developing a simulation engine that will allow NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and researchers around the world to digitally develop and test new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that manage aircraft and converged network system technologies, including cybersecurity measures that could protect unmanned aerial vehicles from malicious attacks.

Department of Defense

麻豆原创 is second in Florida and among the top 11% nationally
Kareem Ahmed, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received a $450,000 Naval Research Laboratory grant to develop a hypersonic engine that can morph or transform its configuration during flights to optimize performance. Ahmed is also heading a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Defense award to develop high-performance fuels for hypersonic propulsion.

Department of Energy

麻豆原创 is second in Florida and among the top 12% nationally
麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance the current understanding of artificial intelligence reasoning. The project focuses on developing algorithms to create robust multi-modal explanations for foundation, or large, AI models through the exploration of several novel explainable AI methods. The DOE recently awarded $400,000 to fund the project.

麻豆原创 is one of 16 universities in the U.S. that have formed a consortium on nuclear forensics. The association is supported by a $25 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy鈥檚 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The goal of the consortium is to engage in research that supports the NNSA鈥檚 nuclear security and nonproliferation missions while building a next-generation workforce of nuclear scientists, engineers and researchers.

Cruz-Neira will inducted at the AWE USA conference next month in Long Beach, California.

鈥淲e owe an immense debt to the pioneers who laid the foundations of today鈥檚 rapidly-growing $40 billion XR industry. We all stand on the shoulders of these giants,鈥� says AWE co-founder Ori Inbar in a release. 鈥淚 call upon the entire XR community to honor these trailblazers by learning their past, celebrating their contribution and continue to shape the future in their visionary image.鈥�

Cruz-Neira, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is a pioneer in the areas of virtual reality and interactive visualization, having created and deployed a variety of technologies that have become standard tools in industry, government and academia. She is known worldwide for being the creator of the CAVE virtual reality system, which allows multiple people to have an immersive experience in the same space.

A lifelong admiration for the beauty of the world, combined with a fascination of how things work, initially drew Cruz-Neira to the field with her first experiences with VR in 1991. She says she knew then that she was going to dedicate her life to exploring and advancing VR, developing experiences to explain phenomena, processes, behaviors and more, creating impossible worlds that cannot be replicated in the physical world.

鈥淭his field has the tremendous potential to be used to explain how the world works, to reflect the beauty and amazing elements of the work, but also provide an almost blank canvas to create new worlds, new beauty, and really let our imagination roam free,鈥� she says.

She has continued her work over the years, motivated by the perfect balance of technical and creative challenges working with VR brings, and the opportunities to develop advances as a computer scientist in the field.

鈥淒oing this from a university adds the incredible joy of working with younger minds that bring fresh perspectives to the challenges and opportunities that this field has to offer,鈥� Cruz-Neira says. 鈥淚 started as a student, but my most recent contributions are all shared with many of my talented students and collaborators and therefore making the community stronger.鈥�

Cruz-Neira joined 麻豆原创 in 2020, drawn to the university for its strong programs and extensive network of partners and collaborators across a number of sectors, including space, defense, energy, entertainment and healthcare.

鈥淚t is not well known that 麻豆原创 has one of, if not the, largest concentration of VR researchers in the U.S. There is a strong ecosystem that generates many demands for VR, as well as use cases,鈥� she says. 鈥淥f course, the strong reputation of 麻豆原创 as a leader in modeling and simulation ties very well with the ecosystem. At this point in my career, the opportunity to have daily interactions, idea exchanges, and stimulating conversations with colleagues and students is the best environment for me to be in.鈥�

She says VR is still an emerging field with many opportunities to contribute. Users need devices that allow them to comfortably experience virtual spaces, individually and in groups, no matter their location. In addition, advancements in displays, interactive and haptic devices, full-body tracking, facial expressions and more are also needed.

鈥淥n the quality of the experience, we are still doing significant research on what are the parameters and guidelines that impact the enjoyment, presence, and overall engagement with the virtual space. The impact of long-term exposure to virtual reality is also still being investigated,鈥� Cruz-Neira says. 鈥淣ew social norms are emerging on how we communicate in VR. There are also emerging issues such as how do we manage ownership of virtual spaces, IP, standards and many other challenges.鈥�

Cruz-Neira is working on a number of projects, but her focus is on integrating VR as the core platform to explore, interact, and gain insight from digital twins. She is working on using VR for immersive data analysis, digital twins for semiconductor manufacturing, applications in defense and space, and digital twins for transportation safety, all collaborative projects with other 麻豆原创 faculty.

鈥淚t is an honor and a privilege to be recognized among many other innovators that are creating and shaping the field of VR, particularly being named in the inaugural group with many pioneers that inspired, challenged, and encouraged me throughout my career,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 see the XR Hall of Fame as a celebration that science and technology is a collaborative endeavor, it takes many talented people working together to make real advances and impact.鈥�

With video surveillance becoming more and more ubiquitous, 麻豆原创 Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV) Assistant Professor Yogesh Rawat, and his collaborators Mubarak Shah and Chen Chen, are working to address privacy issues with advanced software installed on video cameras. Their work is supported by $200,000 in funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation鈥檚 Accelerating Research Translation (NSF ART) program.

鈥淎utomation allows us to watch a lot of footage, which is not possible by humans,鈥� Rawat says. 鈥淪urveillance is important for society, but there are always privacy concerns. This development will enable surveillance with privacy preservation.鈥�

His video monitoring software protects the privacy of those recorded by obscuring select elements, such as faces or clothing, both in recordings and in real time. Rawat explains that his software adds perturbations to the RGB pixels in the video feed 鈥� the red, green and blue colors of light 鈥� so that human eyes are unable to recognize them.

鈥淢ainly we are interested in any identifiable information that we can visually interpret,鈥� Rawat says. 鈥淔or example, for a person鈥檚 face, I can say 鈥楾his is that individual,鈥� just by identifying the face. It could be the height as well, maybe hair color, hair style, body shape — all those things that can be used to identify any person. All of this is private information.鈥�

Since Rawat aims to have the technology available in edge devices, devices that are not dependent on an outside server such as drones and public surveillance cameras, he and his team are also working on developing the technology so that it鈥檚 fast enough to analyze the feed as it is received. This poses the additional challenge of developing algorithms that can process the data in real-time, so that efficient graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs) can handle the workload of analyzing footage as it is captured.

To that end, his main considerations in implementing the software are speed and size.

鈥淲e want to do this very efficiently and very quickly in real time,鈥� Rawat says. 鈥淲e don’t want to wait for a year, a month or days. We also don’t want to take a lot of computing power. We don’t have a lot of computing power in very small GPUs or very small CPUs. We are not working with large computers there, but very small devices.鈥�

The funding from the NSF ART program will allow Rawat to identify potential users of the technology, including nursing homes, childcare centers and authorities using surveillance cameras. Rawat is one of two 麻豆原创 researchers to have projects initially funded through the $6 million grant awarded to the university earlier this year. Four more projects will be funded over the next four years.

His work builds on several previous projects spearheaded by other CRCV members, including founder Mubarak Shah and researcher Chen Chen, including extensive work that allows analysis of untrimmed security videos, training artificial intelligence models to operate on a smaller scale and a patent on software that allows for the detection of multiple actions, persons and objects of interest. Funding sources for these works include $3.9 million from the IARPA Biometric Recognition and Identification at Altitude and Range program, $2.8 million from Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Deep Intermodal Video Analysis, and $475,000 from the U.S Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office.

Rawat says his work in computer vision is motivated by a drive to improve our world.

鈥淚’m really interested in understanding how we can easily navigate in this world as humans,鈥� he says. 鈥淰isual perception is something I’m very interested in studying, including how we can bring it to machines and make things easy for us as humans and as a society.鈥�

About the Researcher

Yogesh Rawat is an assistant professor at the Center for Research in Computer Vision at 麻豆原创. He earned his doctorate in computer science at the National University of Singapore and completed his postdoctoral training in the Center for Research in Computer Vision at 麻豆原创 from 2017 to 2019. He obtained his bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Varanasi in 2009.

In an effort to expand the use of AI in agriculture, several 麻豆原创 researchers will work together to develop several AI-driven technologies that aim to improve the industry鈥檚 field operations. The team is supported by a $2.74 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The funded project will specifically enhance the agricultural applications produced by the AI Institute for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support (AgAID), an institute funded by NIFA. Professor Manoj Karkee from Washington State University is the team鈥檚 leading collaborator of AgAID.

Leading the charge for 麻豆原创 is Professor Yunjun Xu of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He will use his expertise to develop AI methods for motion control and scheduling in agricultural robots. These autonomous ground robots are used to conduct several operations in open fields such as detecting diseases and harvesting crops.

Collaborating with Xu are Professor Ladislau B枚l枚ni of the Department of Computer Science and Assistant Professor Chen Chen from the Center for Research in Computer Vision. B枚l枚ni will strive to integrate AI into the manipulation of agricultural robotic arms to improve the way they interact with their physical environment, while Chen will investigate a new AI method for the sensors used in precision agriculture, a farming practice that uses technology to make more accurate and informed decisions.

Also on the project is chemistry Professor Swadeshmukul Santra, who will work with Chen and Xu to integrate AI into the analysis of pesticide residues.

The 麻豆原创 team hopes that these technologies will be of use to both current and future generations of farmers and AgAID researchers.

鈥淲e anticipate that each AI method will advance its respective state-of-the-art technology and can have performance superior to existing or traditional methods,鈥� Xu says. 鈥淲e also hope to inspire more people, especially younger generations, to join the U.S. agricultural sector workforce.鈥�

To spark an interest in agriculture, the 麻豆原创 researchers plan to coordinate various outreach activities for students including a summer exchange program and workshops. They also plan to develop a new course and training materials around this work, which will be facilitated with the help of graduate students.

The project is funded via the NIFA interagency application program in conjunction with the U.S. National Science Foundation.

About the Researchers

Xu joined 麻豆原创 as an assistant professor in 2008. He earned his doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida. His research interests include agricultural robots, control theory and flying vehicles. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

B枚l枚ni is a professor of computer science and the co-director of the AI Things Laboratory at 麻豆原创. He has secondary joint appointments in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Center for Research in Computer Vision. He is also a member of the 麻豆原创 Cluster for Disability, Aging and Technology. He received his doctoral and master鈥檚 degrees from Purdue University. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery and a member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon honorary society.

Chen is an assistant professor at the Center for Research in Computer Vision and previously served as a postdoctoral scholar for the center. His main research interests are computer vision, image and video processing, and machine learning. He earned his doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Santra holds a doctorate in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. After graduating, he worked at the University of Florida (UF) as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a research assistant professor at the UF Department of Neurological Surgery and Particle Engineering Research Center. In 2005, Santra joined 麻豆原创 as an assistant professor at the NanoScience Technology Center, the Department of Chemistry and the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. He is the director of the 麻豆原创 Materials Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture center, a USDA-NIFA-recognized Center of Excellence.