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Find similar grants$2M NSF Grant Supports AI Project to Develop Stronger, More Sustainable Plastics is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF awarded $2 million to a University of Maryland project using AI to accelerate the discovery of sustainable, biodegradable polymers, addressing environmental impacts of the global plastics industry.
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$2M NSF Grant Supports AI Project to Develop… | Maryland Today $2M NSF Grant Supports AI Project to Develop Stronger, More Sustainable Plastics Researchers Aim to Create Ethical, ‘Interpretable’ Tools for Biopolymer Discovery A UMD research team is working to minimize pollution and fossil fuel use connected to the production of immense volumes of plastics worldwide.
(Photo by Adobe Stock) From the foam inside of our mattresses to components of our electronic devices and vehicles, plastics are a ubiquitous part of modern life, but they are an environmental challenge as well. Plastics manufacturing accounts for roughly 3. 4% of global carbon emissions— a figure that could double by 2060 —and the material can persist for centuries in oceans and landfills once discarded.
But a new $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant is supporting a University of Maryland project to use artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the discovery of sustainable, biodegradable polymers—materials that could help reduce pollution and other environmental impacts from the global plastics industry.
Biopolymers—derived from natural sources and designed to degrade safely—offer a promising alternative, but finding materials with the right combination of strength, clarity and moisture resistance is slow and labor-intensive.
The overall project is being led by UMD’s Po-Yen Chen, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, in collaboration with Teng Li, a professor of mechanical engineering, with additional contributions coming from researchers at Iowa State University. The team’s work was jumpstarted by a team project grant from the University of Maryland Grand Challenges Grants program.
Sanghamitra Dutta, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering with an affiliate appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies , is serving as a co-principal investigator on the project. Dutta will advance the use of interpretable AI—meaning that the processes of the AI algorithm can be studied by observers rather than remaining opaque—to guide the discovery of new biopolymers.
Her work translates foundational research in ethical, interpretable machine learning into practical tools that can preemptively identify promising polymer candidates. “This project is an important leap toward a new real-world application of interpretability that will enable rapid discovery of new biopolymers and promote a sustainable future,” said Dutta, who is a member of the University of Maryland Center for Machine Learning .
Her approach, combined with multiscale simulations and high-throughput robotics, will allow the team to identify promising candidates before costly lab testing. Pasan Dissanayake, a fourth-year electrical and computer engineering doctoral student and a recipient of UMD’s Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award , is supporting Dutta in the NSF-funded research.
Chen and Li, meanwhile, are working together to integrate AI, simulation and robotics into a system that can design and evaluate biopolymer nanocomposites with programmable properties—streamlining the path from computational prediction to experimental validation. Harnessing the power of AI, the team aims to accelerate the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly materials.
Their work addresses pressing environmental challenges and shows how interpretable AI can guide real-world scientific discovery—creating tools and knowledge that could benefit industries from packaging to health care.
The University of Maryland is shaping the future of artificial intelligence by forging solutions to the world’s most pressing issues through collaborative research, training the leaders of an AI-infused workforce and applying AI to strengthen our economy and communities. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering A.
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$2M NSF Grant Supports AI Project to Develop Stronger, More Sustainable Plastics is funded by National Science Foundation (NSF). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
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MGPV Travel Grant is sponsored by Geological Society of America (GSA), Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, Volcanology Division. MGPV Travel grants support student travel to the annual GSA meeting. Applications are restricted to active graduate or undergraduate students who are the presenting authors of an accepted abstract at the annual GSA meeting.
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) - 2025: A.4 Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This omnibus research funding opportunity includes various program elements, with rolling submissions for Earth Science research through August 2026. Proposers to Earth Science using the NASA Center for Climate Simulation high-end computing facility must include specific budget details.
TCUP lists eight funding tracks and roughly $10.3M a year, but the October 14, 2026 deadline applies to only three of them — CHAI, Pre-TI, and TCUP Partnerships — and each carries a restriction that disqualifies most applicants. Here is the track-by-track math.
Read articleNSF 26-513 makes roughly $100 million available for up to 10 State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs at $4M to $12M each over five years. One award per state or multi-state region. One proposal per organization. And NSF is not buying you GPUs — it funds the coordination, the workforce and the faculty training, while the compute has to come from partners you have to already have.
Read articleAs of September 12, NSF had obligated $6.3 billion across 6,200 grants versus $8.1 billion and 8,600 last year. AHRQ has made 61 awards. Judge Allison Burroughs ordered the government to report by September 28 on whether IES will obligate $180 million before it expires. Here is what actually happens to the money on October 1 — and what it means for your FY2027 application.
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