AFRL set to open new Center of Excellence with Carnegie Mellon University

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate will kick off a new $5 million university led Center of Excellence (CoE) with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The new CoE focuses on Data-Driven Discovery of Optimized Multifunctional Material Systems: coupling modern methods of data science and machine learning together with materials research to advance the current state-of-the-art in materials science. Grand challenges of interest include understanding rare events and anomalies; multi-modal data fusion; adaptive experimental design; and adaptive materials design.

The CoE brings together leading experts from CMU in both materials science and machine learning with world-class AFRL researchers to form a highly cooperative partnership. Through continuing collaborations and on-site visits for AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate each summer for students, the new facility aims to develop a pipeline of talented domestic PhDs to tackle current and future Air Force challenges.

AFRL projects workforce capability to expand in nine areas of basic research challenges. Project areas will encompass Air Force applications in both structural and functional materials, including materials processing, characterization, discovery, and synthesis.

The center will be an incubator for organic collaboration between experts in machine learning methods, materials researchers, and students with the desire to gain valuable knowledge. Significant participant interchange between CMU and AFRL is planned: AFRL researchers will visit CMU for workshops and seminars to assist in the development of research projects, while CMU students and faculty will visit AFRL and in engage in summer internships, present seminars, and perform collaborative research