| NSF Org: |
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 22, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 2, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 1936861 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Sandra Cruz-Pol
scruzpol@nsf.gov (703)292-2928 EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $99,752.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $99,752.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1400 TOWNSEND DR HOUGHTON MI US 49931-1200 (906)487-1885 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1400 Townsend Drive Houghton MI US 49931-1295 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ERC-Eng Research Centers |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
Title: Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Emerging Disaster Engineering
Encompassing Human Directed Expert Systems (ERC-DEES)
PI: Jeffrey D. Naber, Michigan Technological University, jnaber@mtu.edu
Part 1: Nontechnical description of the project:
Disasters cause immense economic and human losses. The UN reported between 1998 to 2017 that the world experienced financial losses of $2,908 billion (US$) with the US recording the largest losses of $945 billon. In addition, these disasters were responsible for killing 1.3 million people and left 4.4 billion in need of assistance. Those persons in the communities most significantly impacted are the elderly, disabled, and those economically disadvantaged with limited resources and limited mobility. Concurrently, man-made infrastructure is becoming more vulnerable due to aging and degradation, while weather extremes and terrorism threats are increasing the occurrence and impact of disasters. Thus, there is a critical need to have rapid intelligence and an ability to deploy limited resources with maximum impact at the earliest stage of the disasters.
Vitally needed is improved situational awareness in partnership with first responders and community stakeholders at the emergence of disasters. The ERC planning grant is to develop the scoping, organization, and management of an NSF ERC for Emerging Disaster Engineering Encompassing Human Directed Expert Systems (ERC-DEES). The proposed vision is to develop expert systems with autonomous agents directed by humans with rapid response capabilities in partnership with, and in support of, first responders, communities and their citizens, and local and federal agencies.
Part 2: Technical description of the project:
The proposed vision of the ERC is to develop expert systems with resilient and connected autonomous agents directed by humans with rapid response in partnership with, and in support of, first responders, communities and their citizens, and local and federal agencies. The proposed research includes seven areas integrating 1) resilient autonomous systems able to operate for extended durations in unstructured and extreme environments, 2) advanced sensing and perception, 3) remote sensing, multi-mode communications, 4) social media that feeds expert systems, 5) research and modeling of human and social behavior in emergency situations, 6) data-driven methods for sensing, data mining, and telematics, 7) system of systems predictive models and modeling methodology that integrate rapid environmental change, human social system dynamics, and the corresponding interdependencies. These technologies will enable the development of novel tools to forecast and to anticipate tipping points in the dynamics of such systems by combining forecasting with model-based approaches.
Within the planning grant activities we will explore new convergent research areas and educational programs that link engineering, science, ethics, policy, and societal factors. Outcomes of the workshops and discussions will focus around convergence and pathways to inclusion and diversity. These outcomes will be shared with the four partnering institutions as best practices and guidelines that the institutions may incorporate into their programs. The planning grant will bring together an expansive group of researchers and stakeholders to discuss critical issues facing our nation and world. It will bring together local, state and federal agencies with industries for discussions on the use of advanced technologies including autonomous agents and expert systems. The planning grant will additionally bring together experts in education, leaders in diversity and inclusion, and STEM educators and researchers to explore methods to remove barriers and increase pathways to workforce development, diversity and inclusion.
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.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Rural areas have a great need for intelligent systems in disaster and emergency situations. An ERC could address many technical and social challenges in building and deploying such systems. The major goal of the project grant was to identify and build a comprehensive, convergent ERC team by identifying the needed expertise areas and selecting people from both within partner institutions and externally. This was accomplished by bringing together an expansive group of researchers including those from engineering, social sciences, education, and community stakeholders to discuss critical issues facing our nation and world within the context of emerging disasters in rural areas and their communities across the nation. This involved the participation of three universities in diverse locales, local rural communities, community colleges, and the American Indian Engineering Society.
We directly engaged with rural communities, including Native American groups in New Mexico, to help define the scope, direction, and educational goals of the proposed center. We engaged several educational professionals for undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate studies; economic development professionals at the partner universities, and external consultants.
Several working meetings “Center Structure: Design & Convergence Operations” were to be held to establish the framework of the proposed center, including the leadership structure and operating procedures.
The first of the planned workshops was held in person at Michigan Technological University, November 13, 2019. Titled “Ethical Design in the Development of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems,” It was attended by multiple team members of the partner institutions, invited external guests from IEEE, local first responders, and community response teams.
Topics included: 1) The ethical and social benefits, challenges, and dangers of the application of automated and expert systems (AES) to emerging disaster engineering, esp. regarding IEEE Global Initiative general principles, 2) Current efforts and especially gaps in the research on the ethical and social implications of the design and use of AES to emerging disaster engineering, 3) Current efforts and especially new initiatives needed in ethics education for the development of a diverse engineering workforce, 4): Current efforts and especially challenges of fostering an ethical innovation ecosystem.
Significant Results: A societal issue was identified that needs to be addressed. An extensive range of stakeholders were identified and through a series of workshops were engaged to provide an understanding of the societal issues and brainstorm potential research areas and topics that could address solutions to the problems.
Key outcomes and other achievements: An important achievement of our effort was the diverse nature of our team and approach. We had built a team that consisted of engineers, ethicists, educators, and diversity coordinators. Our stakeholders included members of Native American communities and emergency responders. We had taken an approach of building the proposed center around the societal problems that are intensified during disasters, formulating the underling societal problems based on direct input from stakeholders.
We focused on developing a center to research and develop solutions to assist rural communities during emerging disasters, such as floods, fires, tornados, and hurricanes. The focus was to facilitate emergency response and mitigate impact of infrastructure loss and failure on the loss of lives, health and community. The focus was on rural populations which are often far removed from emergency response during emerging disasters.
Last Modified: 04/30/2023
Modified by: Jeffrey D Naber
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