Support for US Students to Participate in the 2025 International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) Symposium on Mechatronics and Robotics; Paris, France; 15-18 July 2025

This grant supports the next generation of researchers in mechatronics and robotics by providing travel funding for United States-based students to attend the inaugural Joint International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) Symposium on Mechatronics and Robotics in Paris, France, 15-18 July 2025. These fields are crucial for the future of advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, human-robot interaction, semiconductor manufacturing, and many other industries vital to the United States' knowledge economy. This premier international event offers students unparalleled opportunities to present their research, gain exposure to global cutting-edge advancements, and network with leading academic and industry professionals. Given that most IFAC conferences are held overseas, US student participation is often limited. This support will broaden their exposure to international research, enrich their educational experience through specialized workshops, and provide valuable professional development. As the 1st Joint IFAC Symposium on Mechatronics and Robotics, the symposium merges the IFAC Symposium on Mechatronic Systems and the IFAC Symposium on Robotics. The symposium's technical program features a large number of presentations across seven categories, including contributed papers, extended abstracts, tutorial, invited, plenary, and keynote sessions. Topics span intelligent control, advanced manufacturing, biomedical robotics, autonomous systems, human-robot interaction, and many other overlapping areas. Three US-based researchers are among the four plenary speakers, and one of the six keynote speakers is also from the US. Speakers are drawn from academia as well as industry. The project's goal is to enhance student professional development and expose them to international research, thereby addressing current limitations in US student participation in key global forums in mechatronics and robotics. 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.