The Center for Growing Ocean Energy Technologies and the Blue Economy (GO BLUE) under the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) program, is committed to advancing marine energy technologies, fostering economic growth in coastal communities, and supporting global sustainability efforts. By harnessing the expertise of its partner institutions, GO Blue is well-positioned to drive technological breakthroughs, facilitate industry collaboration, and develop a skilled workforce. Over the next five years, faculty and students will engage in cutting-edge research, technology transfer, and workforce development, ensuring a lasting impact on the future of marine energy and environmental stewardship. This project is a collaboration between the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2024 - 2029

• Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)

• Website: Link

The project’s main focus will be on supporting the development of a Ph.D. program in engineering with an emphasis on innovation and solutions for coastal communities. The main areas of research will include coastal resilience, marine energy, the blue energy economy, and biomedical devices.

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2024 - 2028

• Agency: U.S. Department of Education (ED)

• Website:

The Coordinated Autonomous Systems for Exploration and Reconnaissance (CASER) project aims to develop fundamental research that can enhance the capabilities of the Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) for exploration and reconnaissance across complex environments (ground and air). Robust multi-robot teams need to implement models of coordinated maneuvers and techniques that support the understanding of the surroundings and their characteristics, as well as to implement self-organizing behaviors and control strategies that generate paths/routes that can maximize cover, while maximizing team’s efficiency. Strategies will enable robot teams to create formations, identify terrain characteristics, obstacles, and environmental conditions, and perform structural assessments without compromising the mission by maximizing tactical maneuvers, minimizing exposure, and reacting successfully to contact. Project will address three main research areas: (1) Distributed Control of Multi-Robot Systems and Multisensory Synthesis, (2) Models and Metrics for Robust Systems, and (3) Information Processing and Fusion. 

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2023 - 2027

• Agency: Department of Defense HBCU/MI - Army Research Office (DoD / ARO)

• Website: Link

The Cross Training on Data Analytic Experience in Agriculture (CODE-AG) project seeks to foster interdisciplinary collaboration to establish a regional model providing advanced training, coursework, and experiential learning in data science/AI applied to agriculture. Moreover, the project includes the integration of autonomous systems and geospatial data analytics that provide critical skills for this interdisciplinary program. 

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2023 - 2027

• Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)

• Information: Link

The Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST)-Geospatial and Environmental Informatics, Modeling and Simulation(GEIMS) articulates three research subprojects addressing the challenges of coastal resilience by developing new approaches that integrate remote and autonomous sensing with geospatial computing, Artificial Intelligence/deep learning, and big data analytics for comprehensive coastal zone monitoring at different scales. The focus is on improving resiliency to extreme coastal hazards and episodic and persistent events (e.g., hurricane and sea-level rise). Subproject 1 develops new approaches integrating remote and autonomous sensing with geospatial computing and artificial intelligence to improve coastal zone monitoring and resiliency decision-making. It generates detailed and accurate geographic information systems data for characterization of the built and natural environment. Subproject 2 contributes to the understanding of the urban water cycle and the resilience of water infrastructure through integrated characterization, simulation, and assessments. Subproject 3 investigates how emerging data sources and advanced geospatial computing can be applied to evaluate, assist, and improve a coastal community’s physical, behavioral, and social health after disasters.

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2021 - 2026

• Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)

• Website: CREST-GEIMS

Unmanned aircraft systems, a.k.a. drones, have recently become quite popular for commercial and recreational purposes. However, no effective solutions exist to restrict drones from flying over sensitive spaces such as homes, schools, hospitals, temporally-restricted areas, etc., either as final destinations or while in-transit. This introduces serious concerns related to: (i) privacy, e.g., drones taking pictures and/or record video without explicit consent; (ii) cyber-security, e.g., drones used as platforms for launching cyberattacks; (iii) safety, e.g., drone collisions that may result in human affectations and financial costs. NFZ, an open-source framework that regulates drone fly-overs by providing the means to: (i) identify and delimit protection zones over sensitive physical spaces; (ii) specify and enforce restrictions on drone flights by means of fly-over policies; (iii) calculate navigation plans for drones; (iv) orchestrate flight plans to limit airspace drone occupancy.

• Institution: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

• Period: 2021 - 2024 [->2025]

• Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)