Cloud Hosting

FAYETTEVILLE -- Researchers at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville will study how artificial intelligence can be used to make energy infrastructure more responsive and resilient, according to grant award information published by the National Science Foundation.

North Dakota State University is leading the multidisciplinary effort funded by a $5.98 million grant. UA researchers will receive $1.45 million in grant money in support of the four-year project, the university announced Monday.

Haitao Liao, a UA industrial engineering professor, is among the principal investigators for the effort.

Energy infrastructure is a term used to refer to power plants and transmission lines that allow users to access electricity.

"As was seen from the cold weather-related blackouts and disruptions in Texas during February, it is imperative to build resilience into energy delivery systems," Roy McCann, a UA electrical engineering professor, said in a statement.

Efforts have ramped up at the National Science Foundation and within the federal government more broadly to take an active role in supporting artificial intelligence research, also known as AI research.

A federal law that took effect on Jan. 1 established the National AI Initiative to coordinate research on artificial intelligence, defined in the law as referring to "a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments."

The recently funded effort involving six UA researchers aims "to investigate the potential of AI as a driving force for bringing about radical changes to critical infrastructures and industries," according to a grant abstract published on the National Science Foundation's website.

The UA researchers are being led by Liao. Along with McCann, they include Ed Pohl, an industrial engineering professor; Xiao Liu, an industrial engineering assistant professor; Xintao Wu, a computer science and computer engineering professor; and Yue Zhao, an electrical engineering associate professor.

Researchers at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College are also collaborating on the project.

More here:

UA researchers set to take part in energy study - Arkansas Online