Skip to main content
2020 Young Investigator Award Recipients
- Dr. Kaushallya Adhikari, Louisiana Tech University
Information Theoretic Design of Sparse Arrays and Adaptive Algorithms to Maximize Detection in Real Sonar Systems
Program Officer: Dr. Michael Traweek, Maritime Sensing
- Dr. Elaheh Ahmadi, University of Michigan
Ultra-scaled Channel N-polar GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors on on-axis GaN and SiC Substrates for Next Generation of Wireless Technology
Program Officer: Dr. Paul Maki, Electronic Devices, RF Semiconductors and Amplifiers
- Dr. Turan Birol, University of Minnesota
First Principles Study of Ferroelectricity in Novel Systems
Program Officer: Dr. Wallace Smith, Acoustic Transduction Materials and Devices
- Dr. Tal Cohen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Understanding Extreme Response and Damage of Biological Materials
Program Officer: Dr. Timothy Bentley, Naval Force Health Protection
- Dr. Jia Deng, Princeton University
Symbolic Reasoning meets Deep Learning: Toward Building Machines that Think
Program Officer: Dr. Behzad Kamgar-Parsi, Machine Learning, Reasoning and Intelligence
- Dr. Anca Dragan, University of California, Berkeley
A Unified Framework for Inferring Rewards from Diverse Types of Human Feedback
Program Officer: Dr. Behzad Kamgar-Parsi, Machine Learning, Reasoning and Intelligence
- Dr. Keary Engle, Scripps Research Institute
Selective Alkene Functionalization as a Platform for Energetic Materials Development
Program Officer: Dr. Chad Stoltz, Advanced Energetic Materials
- Dr. Brendan Englot, Stevens Institute of Technology
Distributional Reinforcement Learning for Safe Autonomous Navigation
Program Officer: Mr. Marc Steinberg, Science of Autonomy
- Dr. Pedram Hassanzadeh, Rice University
Using Artificial Intelligence and Inexact Computing to Improve Modeling of Multi-scale, Multi-physics, Chaotic Dynamical Systems with Applications to Weather Predictions
Program Officer: Dr. Reza Malek-Madani, Applied and Computational Analysis
- Dr. Marta Hatzell, Georgia Institute of Technology
Electric Eel Inspired Energy Generation to Enable Underwater Artificial Gills
Program Officer: Dr. Sandra Chapman, Undersea Medicine and Performance
- Dr. Adele Igel, University of California, Davis
Microphysical Modeling and Detection of Marine Fog
Program Officer: Dr. Ronald Ferek, Marine Meteorology and Space
- Dr. Adam Kaufman, University of Colorado
Scalable Metrologically-Useful Entanglement with Ytterbium Tweezer Arrays
Program Officer: Dr. Roberto Diener, Quantum Information Science
- Dr. Arka Majumdar, University of Washington
NEO-PGA: Nonvolatile Electro-Optically Programmable Gate Array
Program Officer: Dr. Brian Bennett, Electromagnetic Materials
- Dr. Jacob McFarland, University of Missouri
Droplet Breakup and Vaporization Effects in High-Speed Liquid-Fueled Combustion
Program Officer: Dr. Steven Martens, Power, Propulsion and Thermal Management
- Dr. Melissa Moulton, University of Washington
Remote Sensing and Forecasting of Coastal Exchange for Battlespace Awareness
Program Officer: Dr. Reginald Beach, Littoral Geosciences and Optics
- Dr. Nikolaos Nikiforakis, Stony Brook University
WebForecast: Analysis and Prediction of Web Application Updates
Program Officer: Dr. Ryan Craven, Cyber Security and Complex Software Systems
- Dr. Nicholaus Parziale, Stevens Institute of Technology
Scaling and Structure in Transitional and Turbulent Hypervelocity Flows
Program Officer: Dr. Eric Marineau, Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics, High-Speed Propulsion and Materials
- Dr. Dobromir Rahnev, Georgia Institute of Technology
Assessing and Improving Military Personnel’s Metacognitive Ability
Program Officer: Dr. Ray Perez, Cognitive Science for Naval Adaptive Training
- Dr. Lillian Ratliff, University of Washington
Algorithmic Cooperation, Competition, and Collusion: Heterogeneous Multi-agent Learning
Program Officer: Mr. Marc Steinberg, Science of Autonomy
- Dr. Jonathan Rivnay, Northwestern University
3D Assembly of Bidirectional Bioelectronic Scaffolds Towards Accelerated Tissue Repair
Program Officer: Dr. Laura Kienker, Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology
- Dr. Madeleine Udell, Cornell University
DREAMI: Dimension Reduction for Efficient Automated Machine Intelligence
Program Officer: Dr. Reza Malek-Madani, Applied and Computational Analysis
- Dr. Baoxing Xu, University of Virginia
Heat Transfer of Extremely Deformed Interface Nanomaterials
Program Officer: Dr. Mark Spector, Thermal Science and Engineering
- Dr. Michael Yartsev, University of California, Berkeley
Neural Computations Underlying the Utilization of Sensory Information in Spatial Navigation
Program Officer: Dr. Thomas McKenna, Computational Neuroscience
- Dr. Andrea Young, University of California, Santa Barbara
Topological van der Waals Metamaterials
Program Officer: Dr. Chagaan Baatar, Nanoscale Computing Devices and Systems
- Dr. Jie Zhang, University of Texas at Dallas
Deep Learning-based Reliability and Resilience Enhancement of Future Navy Ships and Their Integration into Power Networks under Extreme Events
Program Officer: Dr. Scott Coombe, Power & Energy Science and Technology
- Dr. Peng Zhang, Michigan State University
Multi-frequency High Power Microwave Generation and Amplification via Optically Gated Electron Beams
Program Officer: Mr. Ryan Hoffman, Directed Energy Weapons: High Power Microwaves