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2025 Young Investigator Award Recipients


Command, Control, Computing, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting (C5ISRT) (Code 31)

Dr. Mengxia Liu, Yale University
Mid-Infrared On-Chip Sensing with Solution-Processed Quantum Heterostructures
Program Officer: Dr. Richard Espinola, EO/IR Sensors and Sensor Processing

Dr. Andrew Mannix, Stanford University
Identification and Deterministic Synthesis of Quantum Information Defects (ID-SQUID)
Program Officer: Dr. Daniel Gunlycke, Nanoscale Computing Devices and Systems

Dr. Ethan Secor, Iowa State University
Structural Integration of Hybrid Electronic Functionality on Complex 3D Surfaces
Program Officer: Dr. Trevor Snow, Active Aperture Array

Dr. Bartolomeo Stellato, Princeton University
Data-Driven Analysis and Design of Mathematical Optimization Algorithms
Program Officer: Dr. David Phillips, Mathematical and Resource Optimization

Dr. Bolei Zhou, University of California, Los Angeles
Embodied Scene Understanding from Data-driven Simulation and Vision-Language Models
Program Officer: Dr. Behzad Kamgar-Parsi, Machine Learning, Reasoning and Intelligence

Ocean Battlespace Sensing (Code 32)

Dr. Man-Yau “Joseph” Chan, Ohio State University
Improving the Navy’s Numerical Atmospheric Predictions by Advancing Novel Transformative Low-Cost Forecast Ensemble Creation Method
Program Officer: Dr. Daniel Eleuterio, Marine Meteorology and Space Weather

Dr. Haonan Chen, Colorado State University
Using Deep Learning to Improve Geostationary Satellite Remote Sensing of Ocean Precipitation
Program Officer: Dr. Joshua Cossuth, Marine Meteorology and Space Weather

Dr. Michael Howland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Closing the Loop on Joint Physics- and Data-Driven Modeling of Marine Boundary Layer Turbulence Above Waves
Program Officer: Dr. Daniel Eleuterio, Marine Meteorology and Space Weather

Dr. Katherine Skinner, University of Michigan
Active Perception and Learning for Adaptive Underwater Surveying and Automatic Target Recognition
Program Officer: Dr. Tory Cobb, Mine Warfare/Ocean Engineering

Dr. Kianoosh Yousefi, University of Texas at Dallas
Sea spray-induced fluxes at high wind conditions: Synergistic experiments and data-driven modeling 
Program Officer: Dr. Scott Harper, Physical Oceanography

Sea Warfare and Weapons (Code 33)

Dr. Amrita Basak, The Pennsylvania State University
Structural Interlocking Through Functional Grading
Program Officer: Dr. Jeffrey Farren, Navy Manufacturing Technology

Dr. Perry Johnson, University of California, Irvine
Physical Understanding and Large-Eddy Simulation of Non-equilibrium and Rough-wall Turbulent Boundary Layers
Program Officer: Dr. Peter Chang, Hydrodynamics Related to Subsurface Vehicles (SSV)

Dr. Felipe Jornada, Stanford University
Coupled Photonic and Electronic Nonlinearities in Excitonic Quantum Materials
Program Officer: Dr. Blake Simpkins, Nonlinear Physics

Dr. Kevin Leahy, Worchester Polytechnic Institute
Graph Learning for Distributed Situational Awareness with Limited Communication and Localization
Program Officer: Ms. Christine Buzzell, Cooperative Autonomous Swarm Technology (CAST)

Dr. Yuzhang Li, University of California, Los Angeles
Battery Smart Sensing Via a Virtual Reference Electrode 
Program Officer: Dr. Michele Anderson, Electrochemical Materials

Warfighter Performance (Code 34)

Dr. Yufeng Chen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Soft-Actuated Flapping-Wing Robots for Locomotion in Amphibious Environments 
Program Officer: Dr. Thomas McKenna, Bio-Inspired Autonomous Systems

Dr. Sanjiban Choudhary, Cornell University
Learning Long-Horizon Dextrous Manipulation from Vision Language Demonstrations 
Program Officer: Dr. Tom McKenna, Human Interaction with Autonomous Systems

Dr. Melkior Ornik, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Risk vs. Efficiency vs. Resources: AI-Assisted Planning for Expeditionary Tactical Operations in Denied Environments
Program Officer: Dr. Peter Squire, Human Performance, Training and Education

Dr. Matthew Robison, University of Notre Dame
Visual Gaze Training for the Improvement of Cognitive Performance 
Program Officer: Ms. Natalie Steinhauser, Attention Control

Dr. Benjamin Woolston, Northeastern University
Expanding The Product Range of Anaerobic Methanol Fermentation
Program Officer: Dr. Kristy Hentchel, Biotechnology for Naval Applications

Naval Air Warfare and Weapons (Code 35)

Dr. Chuchu Fan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Interactive Testing, Assessment, and Repair for Rapid Autonomy Adoption 
Program Officer: Mr. Marc Steinberg, Science of Autonomy

Dr. Kyle Hanquist, University of Arizona
Plasma Surface Interactions of Thermally Intense Aerospace Surfaces
Program Officer: Dr. Eric Marineau, Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics, High-Speed Propulsion and Materials

Dr. Herschel Pangborn, Pennsylvania State University
Graph-Based Optimization and Reconfigurable Control for Naval Aircraft Propulsion, Power, and Thermal Management Systems 
Program Officer: Dr. Steven Martens, Power, Propulsion and Thermal Management

Dr. Gokul Pathikonda, Arizona State University
Understanding Dynamics and Control of Unsteady Separation via Texture-Induced 3D Boundary Layers
Program Officer: Dr. David Gonzalez, Aerodynamics