MSU researcher wins NSF CAREER award to study human-robot interactions within construction industry
Contact: Aspen Harris
STARKVILLE, Miss.—With transformational research and a prestigious National Science Foundation award, Mississippi State’s Jun Wang develops new methods for the construction industry to utilize human-robot interactions in its practices.
An assistant professor in MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering and the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wang now can take her research even further as the university’s latest recipient of an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. She is receiving $557,391 to further her research in integrating safe, efficient interactions between robots and the construction workforce.
Working to better understand the complexities around these human-robot interactions, Wang also wants to figure out how virtual reality and artificial intelligence can enhance skill transfer and collaboration within the industry.
“I hope to learn how these technologies can be leveraged to train workers more efficiently, improve safety protocols and optimize the collaborative processes between humans and robots in construction tasks,” she said.
Using specific human-robot interaction scenarios and skills, Wang will develop VR-based modules to educate workers on robot operation skills in simulated environments. Behavioral and biometric data collected from these modules will be used to model skill development and personalize training to individual workers.
“I am deeply grateful for the support and encouragement I have received from my mentors and colleagues in pursuing the NSF CAREER award,” she said. “My sincere appreciation goes to the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering for fostering an environment conducive to research and innovation.”
Wang earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Dalian University of Technology in China, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from McMaster University in Canada.
CAREER award recipients receive five years of funding for their research endeavors. Recent Bagley College of Engineering faculty members who have earned this award include Amirtahà Taebi, Bo Tang, Jean Mohammadi-Aragh, Ali Gurbuz, Wenmeng Tian, Neeraj Rai, Mehmet Kurum, Tanmay Bhowmik, Maxwell Young, Adam Jones, Ted Dickel and Kip Barrett.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.
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