TLDR: Four assistant professors at Purdue University have been honored with the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards. These five-year grants, among NSF’s most esteemed, recognize their potential as academic leaders and innovators. Their projects span critical areas including software security for embedded systems, brain-machine interfaces for speech, grid-responsive electrified transportation, and advanced AI for complex problem-solving and explainable AI.
Four distinguished assistant professors at Purdue University have been awarded the highly coveted National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards. These prestigious five-year grants, bestowed between August and December 2024, acknowledge faculty members who demonstrate exceptional potential as academic role models in both research and education, driving advancements within their respective fields.
Among the honorees is Aravind Machiry, an assistant professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His project, titled ‘Securing Deeply Embedded Software,’ aims to tackle pervasive security vulnerabilities in software that controls a vast array of software-intensive systems. These systems are integral to modern life, found in homes, transportation networks, food production, and energy infrastructure. Machiry’s research is poised to develop innovative software security techniques and tools that could be applied to billions of embedded devices globally.
Also from the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Joseph Makin received the award for his project, ‘Brain-Machine Interfaces for Speech.’ Makin’s work focuses on enhancing programs capable of decoding speech directly from electrical signals recorded from the brain. By integrating machine learning, efficient experimental design, and extensive datasets, his research holds transformative potential to restore the ability to communicate through speech for individuals who have lost this vital function.
Junjie Qin, another assistant professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was recognized for his project, ‘Towards Grid-Responsive Electrified Transportation Systems: Modeling, Aggregation, and Market Integration.’ Qin’s research is dedicated to establishing the foundational conceptual and algorithmic frameworks for electrified transportation systems that can dynamically respond to grid conditions. This endeavor is expected to unlock substantial economic value through system flexibility, while simultaneously facilitating transportation electrification, supporting renewable energy integration, and accelerating the decarbonization of both transportation and electricity sectors.
From the College of Science, Yexiang Xue, an assistant professor of computer science, secured the award for his project, ‘Solving Beyond-NP Satisfiability Modulo Counting Problems with Guarantees Using NP Oracles.’ Xue’s groundbreaking work explores advanced AI approaches to address complex real-world challenges that demand sophisticated planning and decision-making. These applications include critical areas such as disaster preparedness, biodiversity protection, and ensuring a secure energy supply. His project will specifically develop algorithms that incorporate Satisfiability Modulo Counting, a symbolic reasoning tool, to create valuable diagnosis tools for explainable AI and potentially accelerate the learning of physics models within AI for scientific discovery.
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Purdue University, a public research institution, is consistently ranked among the top 10 public universities in the United States. It is committed to discovering, disseminating, and deploying knowledge with unparalleled quality and scale. The university serves over 107,000 students across its various campuses, locations, and modalities, with more than 58,000 students attending its main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Demonstrating a strong commitment to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has maintained a tuition freeze for 13 consecutive years. The university continues its relentless pursuit of innovation through strategic initiatives like its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes, and the One Health initiative.
