Collaborative Research: Workshop: Integrated Design of Active Dynamic Systems (IDADS); Champaign, Illinois

This workshop will provide travel support for 50 participants, many of which are from under-represented groups, the opportunity to explore the state-of-the-art, knowledge gaps, practice, and future research directions for the integrated design and control of active systems. The workshop will consist of three sections, each of which consists of two plenary talks followed by a breakout session. Each section will address one of three critical topics in the integrated design and control of active systems: 1) State-of-the-Art and Fundamental Knowledge Gaps in Active System Design, 2) Moving Active System Design Optimization Tools toward Practical Utility, and 3) Defining Future Scientific Strategies for Active System Design. The breakout sessions will consist of five groups of 10 heterogeneous researchers that will address questions related to each topic. Each group will produce a written report of their conversations, a Slack workspace will be created for open conversation of all participants throughout and after the workshop, and the workshop organizers will write a final report.

This workshop will lead to the creation of a convergent group of researchers that combine expertise in the integrated design and control of active systems. This group will be well-situated to address the fundamental questions at the intersection of design and controls, and to create the methods and toolsets necessary to translate the theory to practice for a wide range of important applications.

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.