Federal Grant Award Summary

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) received a $600,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), awarded January 15, 2026, with completion anticipated by September 30, 2030. The grant supports research and development of advanced simulation tools and control methods for robotic systems operating in complex environments. The primary deliverables include: (1) multi-physics simulation software capable of accurately modeling deformation, fluid interactions, and orbital dynamics—with specific application to emerging space and underwater robotics domains where current simulation capabilities are inadequate; and (2) computationally efficient control algorithms that process high-dimensional sensor inputs (vision and tactile data) while maintaining interpretability and safety guarantees, leveraging modern parallel computing hardware such as graphics processing units (GPUs).

The research directly addresses the capability gap preventing reliable robot deployment in challenging real-world environments by enabling more accurate physics modeling for training purposes and developing scalable control methods that reduce dependence on expensive hardware-based reinforcement learning data collection. The project includes education and outreach components designed to engage elementary and middle school students in future space missions, contributing to workforce development in advanced robotics and engineering fields. The work is performed at MIT's Cambridge, Massachusetts location.