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Center for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Systems (MECIS) College of Engineering and Computer Science

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Center for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Systems (MECIS)

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Center for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Systems (MECIS)
EPOB4 13
Email: mecis@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3070
Phone Alt: (956) 665-8878

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News and Media

UTRGV expanding AI research, education with $2.8M grant

Eric Rodriguez, a UTRGV researcher, shows a deeper enforcement learning program to train AI on drones by putting into a simulation over and over again on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Edinburg. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

The grant is from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ExpandAI Program with the project called AI Research and Innovation for Smart Environments (ARISE). The grant will focus on increasing the university’s AI research and education capacity in courses, training and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Constantine Tarawneh, a UTRGV engineering professor and director of the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety, said the grant is the second phase of the program with the UTRGV NSF Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-physical Infrastructure Systems already having AI capacity.

“That allowed us to jump ahead and … ExpandAI Program builds on the capacity we already started through the CREST grant,” Tarawneh said. “It’s a partnership with Georgia Tech … because our work is synergistic with what they’re doing. We’re creating AI models for infrastructure monitoring.”

For the complete article, visit:

https://myrgv.com/publications/the-monitor/2025/04/09/utrgv-expanding-ai-research-education-with-2-8m-grant/

 

UTRGV Center for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Systems: Training the Next Generation

MECIS group photo. From left to right (first row): Manuela Cantu (Program Assistant), Constantine Tarawneh (Founding Director, PI), Angela Chapman (Diversity and Education Coordinator, Co-PI), Fatemeh Nazari (Co-PI), Nicholas Dimakis (Senior Personnel), Tohid Sardarmehni (Senior Personnel), Jianzhi Li (Co-PI). From left to right (second row): Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee (Founding Deputy Director, Co-PI), Madhab Pokhrel (Senior Personnel), Satya Akundi (Senior Personnel) and engineering undergraduate and graduate students.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS –  Researchers at UT Rio Grande Valley have been awarded a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program to establish a Center for Multidisciplinary Research Excellence in Cyber-Physic al  Infrastructure Systems (MECIS).

“CREST MECIS will raise the research profile of the institution with state-of-the-art research projects in an area that is among the hottest topics in the engineering world and research expenditures of $1 million/year over the next five years,” said Dr. Constantine Tarawneh, Ph.D., principal investigator, Founding Director of the NSF CREST Center-MECIS,  professor in mechanical engineering, and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

For the complete article, visit:

https://www.utrgv.edu/innovation/news/news-stories/crest/index.htm 



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