Conference: IACM 2nd Mechanistic Machine Learning & Digital Engineering for Computational Science, Engineering & Technology (MMLDE-CSET); El Paso, Texas; 24-27 September 2023

This award is to provide travel and registration support to 20 high school, 15 undergraduate and 20 graduate students, 5 post-doctoral fellows, and 3 high school teachers to participate in-person or virtually in the 2nd Mechanistic Machine Learning & Digital Engineering for Computational Science, Engineering & Technology (MMLDE-CSET) Conference to be held in El Paso, Texas from 24-27 September 2023. The objective of MMLDE-CSET is to provide a platform for intradisciplinary collaboration between experts in engineering, basic sciences, mathematics, and data and computer science from academia, industry, and federal entities, who have interests in developing and applying machine learning and digital twins solutions to complex technological problems based on mechanistic methods and computational engineering and science paradigms. Additionally, the conference strives to facilitate the development of the next generation of engineers, scientists, and researchers, through education and dissemination, with a strong focus on underrepresent groups. The objective of this conference pertinent to this grant is to enable and expose the workforce of tomorrow to the exponentially growing fields of machine learning and digitals twins in the context of mechanistic based computational science and engineering methods. There are several activities dedicated or geared towards students. Undergraduate students will have an opportunity to present their research in an exclusive education track composed of oral and poster sessions. Two short one-day courses targeted towards graduate, undergraduate, and high school students will be offered on digital engineering, mechanistic data science, and basic application of ML as applied to STEM fields. Three lunchtime education panels on curriculum, teaching and learning approaches, and funding, respectively, will be held for general audiences. Besides these carefully designed activities, students will be able to attend plenary talks and general technical sessions and interact with industry in specifically themed sessions. This project is supported by the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Program, the Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) Program, the Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) Program, and the Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MoMS) Program of the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Division. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.