UD to Lead $21.5 Million NSF National AI Institute

From the teenage soccer player recovering from knee surgery to the grandparent relearning how to walk after a stroke, physical therapy plays a vital role in restoring mobility and helping people live independently - especially later in life.

But what if artificial intelligence could work side by side with physical therapists, adapting to each patient, guiding treatment decisions and accelerating recovery? The University of Delaware will lead a new U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute to make that vision a reality.

NSF has issued a $21.5 million, five-year award to establish the NSF AI Institute for Human-AI Cooperation (HAIC), headquartered at UD's Data Science Institute. UD will lead the effort in collaboration with Delaware State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Florida and Princeton University.

"Our goal is to transform artificial intelligence into an adaptive teammate, allowing human users and AI systems to interact in dynamic collaboration," said HAIC Director Cathy Wu, the Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science at UD. "By developing AI that enables personalized models tailored to individual needs and decision-making, our institute will chart a new path for health care and cultivate the next generation of leaders in AI."

HAIC will bring together experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning, physical therapy and rehabilitation, ethics, engineering and robotics, neuroscience and biomechanics, education and workforce development. At UD, the institute will engage 11 faculty members and their teams across multiple departments, centers and institutes.