A MESSAGE FROM THE DEO The 2021-2022 academic year, designated as “Year of Research,”
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coming to an end. This designation marked our endeavor to advance our graduate program. As a result, a group of ME faculty submitted a grant titled “Artificial Intelligence, Modeling and Simulation” (AIMS) Certificate Programs” to the Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education in an effort to enhance the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) program. The AIMS grant was awarded in December 2021. The ME Department has an established M&S program on the design of mechanical systems and thermal-fluid systems. In 2018, the Department launched an initiative to add an autonomy area to the program. Autonomy
multidisciplinary field encompassing robotics, control, dynamic systems, cyber-physical systems, sensing, network and data science, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML, a subfield of AI). The AIMS grant aims to strengthen our existing M&S program and grow the autonomy area by including important topical connections with AI, ML and M&S. M&S is a knowledge-based approach that develops models to generate data, while ML is a databased approach that learns from data to generate models. We used AI in the program title to emphasize: (1) the various types of combinations: M&S-assisted ML, ML-assisted M&S, and hybrid approaches, (2) the notion of using multiple models toward the design of intelligent complex machines (thus, AI), and (3) the importance of uncertainty quantification (UQ) in all methods. This grant allows us to create new courses in AI, ML and UQ, conduct research on new methodologies, and recruit students into this emerging field. Both AIMS undergraduate and graduate certificate proposals have been approved by the Provost in spring 2022. We are in the process of implementing both certificate programs. We will keep you posted on the progress in the near future. We hope that everyone can relax and enjoy a safe and pleasant summer.
Ching-Long Lin, DEO Edward M. Mielnik and Samuel R. Harding Professor
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