Project Grant 2237284

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $440,822 will fund the development of objective reduction frameworks and methods for sustainable process systems decision-making under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041). Principal Investigator at the University of Michigan will receive the award from January 2023 through December 2027 to create computational tools for systematically reducing numerous objectives in multi-criteria optimization problems involving chemical manufacturing infrastructure design and operations. Methods will identify correlated objectives that can be grouped into single objectives, efficiently find high-quality compromise decisions, and apply machine learning and community detection to problems with dynamic or uncertain parameters. Software implementing the objective reduction approaches will be made publicly available to further academic and industrial research and education in chemical process systems. The award also supports integrated educational activities including modules on multi-criteria decision-making and mentorship programs to teach underrepresented students in these areas.