CREST-PRP: Promoting Coastal Biodiversity with AI-driven Modular Seawall Design and Construction

CREST博士后研究计划(CREST-PRP)为活跃的CREST中心的个人早期职业科学家提供两年的研究、培训和指导经验支持。CREST-PRP奖项的目标是增加STEM劳动力的存在，这些个人是STEM领域代表性不足的群体的成员。CREST-PRP奖项表彰具有巨大潜力的研究人员，并支持他们的研究经验，以拓宽他们的视野，促进跨学科互动，并为CREST-PRP学者在科学界担任领导职位做好准备。“通过人工智能驱动的模块化海堤设计和建造促进沿海生物多样性”的研究项目与CREST-PRP目标直接一致。该项目由佛罗里达国际大学CREST水生化学与环境中心的一名研究人员提交，旨在开发和测试Ecoblox，这是一种用于海岸线建设的创新联锁模块块体系统，可以轻松地集成到现有海堤中或用于建造新的海堤。该项目的设计和开发工作将建立在大数据分析、网络传感器技术、人工智能和机器人技术进步的基础上。该项目预计将增进对为特定生态系统条件量身定做的合成海堤设计和建造的了解，这将促进海岸线的复原力和生物多样性。此外，研究人员将接受积极的科学和职业指导和培训，为他们作为STEM专业人员做好准备，同时促进东道主CREST中心的科学能力。该项目将在设计过程中应用小气候数据和特定地点的信息，包括太阳辐射、风型、水和空气温度以及水的浊度，以优化Ecoblox的整体几何形状和连锁机制，并为特定的生态系统定制每个海堤。将使用人工智能驱动的生成性设计软件来研究Ecoblox的大小、比例、形状和表面纹理与海洋生物定居的理想条件之间的关系，从而促进海堤的生物多样性。为了确保施工的准确性和高效的施工方法，研究人员将在复杂几何形状的Ecoblox的生产中使用机器人3-D打印和计算机数控铣削等先进制造技术，从而实现有利于生态的海堤解决方案，并以最少的浪费和降低的成本生产。最后，该项目将探索和开发替代材料，将建筑工程对水质和海洋生物的环境影响降至最低。博士后研究员将接受的广泛培训和指导不仅有利于她的长期职业目标，还将通过增强东道主CREST中心的常驻科研能力而使其受益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The CREST Postdoctoral Research Program (CREST-PRP) provides two years of support for research, training, and mentoring experiences for individual early career scientists at active CREST Centers. The goal of the CREST-PRP awards is to increase the STEM workforce presence of individuals who are members of groups underrepresented in STEM fields. CREST-PRP awards recognize investigators with significant potential and support their research experiences to broaden their perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions, and prepare CREST-PRP scholars for positions of leadership within the scientific community. The research project, "Promoting Coastal Biodiversity through AI-driven Modular Seawall Design and Construction," is in direct alignment with the CREST-PRP goals. Submitted by a researcher affiliated with the CREST Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment at Florida International University, the project is designed to develop and test Ecoblox, an innovative interlocking modular block system for shoreline construction that can easily integrate into existing seawalls or be used to build new seawalls. The project’s design and development work will build on technological advancements in big data analytics, networked sensor technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and robotics. The project expects to advance understanding of design and construction of synthetic seawalls customized for the conditions of specific ecosystems, that will further coastline resilience and biodiversity. Additionally, the researcher will receive active scientific and career mentoring and training to prepare them to flourish as a STEM professional while simultaneously contributing to the scientific capacity of the host CREST Center.The project will apply microclimatic data and site-specific information in the design process, including factors such as solar radiation, wind patterns, water and air temperature, and water turbidity, to optimize the overall geometry and interlocking mechanism of Ecoblox and customize each seawall for specific ecosystems. AI-driven generative design software will be employed in investigating the relationship between the size, ratio, shape, and surface texture of Ecoblox to ideal conditions for the colonization of marine life, thus promoting biodiversity along seawalls. To ensure accuracy in construction and efficient construction methods, the researcher will use advanced manufacturing techniques such as robotic 3-D printing and computer numerical control milling in the production of Ecoblox with intricate geometries, thus enabling seawall solutions that are ecologically beneficial and produced with minimal waste and reduced cost. Finally, the project will explore and develop alternative materials that minimize the environmental impacts of construction on water quality and marine life. The extensive training and mentoring the postdoctoral researcher will receive will not only benefit her long-term career objectives but also afford benefits to the host CREST Center by bolstering its resident scientific research capacity.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.