E-RISE RII: Establishment of the U.S. Virgin Islands Center for Autonomous Research for a new Era of Ecological Marine Science and Workforce Development

About This Grant

This project will establish the Virgin Islands Center for Autonomous Research (VICAR) at the University of the Virgin Islands. VICAR will build research capacity in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) as a leader in automated ecosystem research, education, and workforce development. The project will build infrastructure supporting automation in ecological and physical research and accelerate research, restoration, and management of coral reef, mangrove, and pelagic ecosystems. This work will lead to the development a sustainable STEM ecosystem across all educational levels in the USVI. Research will develop autonomous methods using underwater and aerial robotic vehicles, 3D modeling, and artificial intelligence to address key questions about how marine ecosystems respond to environmental stressors. The project will create an interdisciplinary and skilled local workforce through involvement of 116 graduate and undergraduate students in research, development and deployment of VICAR methodologies, engagement of over 3,000 public middle and high school students in locally focused STEM programming, and creation of a new university course on ecological robotics and artificial intelligence. This research will underpin the staged development of VICAR's Integrated Undersea Survey (VICARIUS) platform, a core knowledge base directed towards research of ocean and maritime ecosystems and designed to evolve with emerging technologies. VICAR will (1) establish methods for automated reef surveys using AUVs, 3D photogrammetry, and AI-based image analysis while testing hypotheses about reef novelty, structure, and function, (2) expand VICARIUS capabilities to integrate with long-term ecological research, offering a unique opportunity to analyze and forecast ecosystem stability across unprecedented spatial and temporal scales, and (3) broaden applicability by expanding survey and analysis methodologies to mangrove forests and pelagic ecosystems. VICAR will establish the USVI as a regional leader in marine technology while creating new STEM career pathways and addressing workforce development. VICAR will broaden STEM participation by engaging over 1000 public school students, supporting interdisciplinary research experiences for 116 UVI students, and providing professional development for educators. These investments have potential to serve as a model for other small island communities facing similar challenges in developing resilient economies and ecosystems. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE). E-RISE supports the development of sustainable research infrastructure and capacity in EPSCoR jurisdictions through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, or problem-driven research and workforce development to improve competitiveness in selected STEM fields. 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.