The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded the University of Kansas Center For Research Inc. $2 million on January 1, 2027, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to support the Scholars in Machine Assisted Reasoning and Trust for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics project.
The award funds scholarships of up to $15,000 for up to five years to 30 high-achieving, low-income undergraduate scholars pursuing bachelor's degrees in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and applied computing at the University of Kansas and Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Scholars receive faculty mentoring, participate in a common curricular framework that builds scholar cohorts, and engage in undergraduate research experiences. The project emphasizes increasing STEM degree completion and workforce development in machine-assisted and autonomous systems fields and artificial intelligence-based areas. An external evaluator will assess the effectiveness of curricular changes and their holistic impact on scholar experiences, contributing to evidence about strategies that support talented, low-income students in STEM.
Performance of work occurs in Lawrence, Kansas. The period of performance runs through December 31, 2032.