WEST LAFAYETTE — Thirteen Purdue University faculty members have been selected to receive 2026 Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, awards from the National Science Foundation.
The CAREER award is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious recognition for early-career faculty members who demonstrate the potential to become future leaders and role models in both research and education.
The faculty members were notified of their awards between December 2025 and July 2026. Together, the recipients represent a wide range of fields, from robotics and artificial intelligence to environmental science, engineering, physics, and biomedical research.
Among the 13 recipients is Laura Blumenschein, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, who received $650,000 for research focused on developing soft robotic systems that can better respond to physical contact. Her work could help create robotic arms capable of avoiding damage, seeking support, and automatically grasping objects.
James Davis, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, received $401,546 for research examining how engineers can more safely and effectively reuse pre-trained artificial intelligence models.
Computer science professor Benjamin Delaware received $391,123 for research aimed at helping developers better understand and evaluate computer code, including code generated by large language models.
In the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Michael Eddy received $426,153 to study the remains of an ancient volcanic system in Washington state. His research could provide a better understanding of processes occurring beneath active volcanoes and improve the scientific knowledge used to assess volcanic hazards.
Several recipients are conducting research related to artificial intelligence and computing.
Zahra Ghodsi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, received $326,628 for research focused on developing large-scale machine-learning systems that are more open and distributed while maintaining security and privacy protections.
Qi Guo, also an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, received $359,934 to study passive 3D imaging, which estimates the distance of objects from photographs without emitting light into the environment. The technology could have applications in autonomous systems, robotics, scientific imaging and environmental monitoring.
Computer science professor Rajiv Khanna received $357,921 for research into the structure of machine learning, including how models use and retain information and how people and artificial intelligence systems can work together.
Haitong Li, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, received $366,820 to develop new computer chips and systems designed to help artificial intelligence systems reason and solve complex problems while using less energy.
Ahmed Qureshi, an assistant professor of computer science, received $440,718 for research aimed at helping robots better understand their surroundings, learn more efficiently and adapt to unfamiliar environments.
Other projects focus on health, environmental conditions and advanced physics.
Nusrat Jung, an assistant professor of civil and construction engineering, received $545,869 to study chemical emissions and transformations resulting from personal care product use indoors. Her research could help improve the understanding of pollutants in buildings and inform future ventilation strategies.
Rachel Surowiec, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in Indianapolis, received $596,068 for research examining the role of water within bone tissue. Her work is focused on finding new approaches to reduce bone fragility and fractures, particularly among older adults.
Jukka Vayrynen, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, received $360,000 for theoretical research into the behavior of electrons in quantum devices made from topological materials. The research could contribute to the development of future advanced quantum technologies.
Finally, Raymond Yeh, an assistant professor of computer science, received $339,067 for research involving machine learning and computer vision. His work seeks to develop more interpretable and accountable vision models by creating clearer connections between a model’s behavior and the data used to train it.
The National Science Foundation announces CAREER awards throughout the year. The recognition provides funding for promising faculty members as they continue building research programs while advancing education in their fields.
The 13 Purdue recipients received a combined total of more than $5.5 million in CAREER award funding, supporting research that could lead to advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, environmental science, health, computing and quantum technology.
