Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Office of Multidisciplinary Activities division under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences program (CFDA 47.075), awarded the University of Alabama a $520,547 Project Grant effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, to conduct experimental research on complexity and dynamic learning under uncertainty. The project delivers scientific research products focused on understanding how individuals learn and make decisions in environments with unknown hazard rates. Key deliverables include the development of a formal mathematical framework for modeling human learning about unobserved hazard rates, controlled laboratory experiments that systematically vary information structure while holding actual information constant, and empirical data testing whether complex information environments facilitate or impede timely decision-making. The research also evaluates artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision support tools designed to assist human cognition under conditions of uncertainty.

The research advances NSF's mission in sequential learning and strategic decision-making through hypothesis-testing using experimental methods in controlled environments. By investigating how structural complexity—operationalized through multiple informational inputs, signal asymmetry, memory constraints, and probabilistic framing—shapes behavior and decision outcomes, the project contributes to foundational knowledge in behavioral economics and cognitive science. Sub-awards are planned as part of the project execution, though specific sub-awardee details are not provided in this award documentation.