September 5, 2024

NSF funds CSU research projects to develop AI techniques in geosciences

Colorado State University researchers have received funding for two projects from the National Science Foundation as part of a $20 million grant package through the Collaborations in Artificial Intelligence and Geosciences program.

The first project is centered at CIRA in close partnership with scientists in the atmospheric science and mathematics departments. It is led by Imme Ebert-Uphoff, a research professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Machine Learning Lead at CIRA.

The effort aims to provide a better understanding of the nature of cloud formation and how that process plays into past and future climates on Earth. Together, the team will develop AI approaches that leverage novel mathematical components to make the connection between satellite observations of clouds and their associated weather and climate patterns more understandable and usable for researchers.

Ebert-Uphoff said the work will build an overall understanding of extreme weather formation and strengthen connections between disciplines around this important topic.

“Additionally, four of the five senior researchers involved in the project are women, and the entire team represents a variety of career stages and disciplines,” Ebert-Uphoff said. “That means this project presents an opportunity to pursue new ideas at the intersection of meteorology, AI and math while also supporting the development of a diverse STEM workforce that can then carry on this research for years to come.”

Co-principal investigators on the project include Research Scientists John M. Haynes and Yoo-Jeong Noh at CIRA, Associate Professor Kristen Rasmussen from the Department of Atmospheric Science (ATS) and Associate Professor Emily King from the Department of Mathematics. Three additional scientists at CSU – Lander Ver Hoef (CIRA), Charles White (CIRA) and Hungjui Yu (ATS/CIRA) – contributed to this proposal.