Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation's Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation has awarded $619.8K to the University of New Mexico under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) for a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant spanning August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2031. This project will develop novel algorithms and computational tools that exploit symmetries in large-scale systems to dramatically reduce the computational demands of autonomous decision-making systems. The primary deliverables include symmetry-aware algorithms for extreme-scale autonomous decision-making that reduce both computing and memory requirements, with specific applications to active battery balancing and resilient manufacturing logistics. All algorithms and tools will be released as open-source software to broaden accessibility and foster innovation across the engineering research community.

In addition to research deliverables, the grant supports educational and outreach activities designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration by integrating autonomy and artificial intelligence concepts into curricula for students outside traditional control systems engineering majors. Project-based educational materials will be developed from real-world applications to engage students and demonstrate how emerging autonomous decision-making tools are reshaping control and automation fields. These combined research and educational products aim to strengthen national infrastructure by reducing the economic and environmental costs of computation while developing a diverse engineering workforce capable of advancing autonomous systems technology.