PARTNER: ARISE: AI Research and Innovation for Smart Environments - Empowering Minorities in Autonomous Robotics and Infrastructure Monitoring

This project is an Expand AI Partnership between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI), and the AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) at Georgia Tech, an NSF-sponsored AI institute focused on automated decision-making and mathematical optimization. In this project, a minority-serving institution leads a new collaboration with an AI Institute focused on scaling up already-established research and education programs at UTRGV and to pursue shared, complementary goals around developing AI with use for society in mind and for developing the next generation of AI education and workforce talent.

The partnership aims to enhance and expand UTRGV's AI capacity in research, education, and workforce development and create new academic opportunities through strategic and synergistic programs with AI4OPT focused around AI-driven autonomous robots and sensors for use in transportation.

This collaborative project focuses on AI-driven autonomous robots and sensors for advanced predictive condition monitoring of Critical Transportation Infrastructures (CTIs) (e.g., highways, railways, bridges), a new use case for AI4OPT, transcending traditional reactive monitoring methods to more reliable and proactive practices. UTRGV will focus on developing autonomous robots and sensors, collecting data, training/testing AI models, expanding its AI infrastructure, developing specialized AI courses, supporting the newly approved doctoral program in computer science with interdisciplinary applications, and facilitating the training of students and junior faculty.

AI4OPT will use data generated by UTRGV to develop mathematical optimization models and refine AI models for robust predictive maintenance. Simultaneously, they will train UTRGV students and junior faculty on advanced AI model optimization. Project ARISE will enhance the educational and research opportunities for students at UTRGV, a large Hispanic-serving institution, by integrating advanced research into educational activities, offering summer immersion programs at Georgia Tech, and expanding UTRGV’s AI capacity.

The partnership will also expand UTRGV’s AI curriculum by partnering through course development in AI, autonomous robots (UAVs and UGVs), sensors, and data mining, to support advanced AI skills training for students and professional development for junior faculty.

The ExpandAI Program supports AI-powered education and workforce development, infrastructure and research at Minority Serving Institutions to strengthen and diversify U.S. research and education pathways and provide historically marginalized communities with new opportunities in STEM careers. This project is funded by the HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.