Federal Project Grant Award Summary

New York University received a $249,899 project grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Computing and Communication Foundations, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program (CFDA 47.070). The award, effective December 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, supports research into new relaxations and algorithmic frameworks for online optimization problems. The project aims to develop general-purpose algorithms that optimize decision-making under uncertainty across sequential decision scenarios, where algorithms must balance immediate gains against positioning for future opportunities. A primary focus is the k-server problem, which addresses optimal server movement strategies in metric spaces to minimize total movement costs while responding to dynamically arriving requests.

The research deliverables include theoretical algorithmic innovations and optimization methodologies applicable to practical problems such as task scheduling, memory management, and dynamic resource allocation. By advancing the theoretical foundations of online algorithms and developing more efficient algorithmic approaches, this project contributes to NSF's broader mission of supporting foundational and applied research in computing and information science. The work is performed at New York University's facility in New York, NY.