UPR–Mayagüez Researcher Wins NSF CAREER Award to Model Two-Way Human–AI Driving Trust

The San Juan Daily Star reported that Juan F. Medina Lee, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Puerto Rico's Mayagüez Campus (RUM), has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant. The paper describes this as a highly competitive award for early-career faculty expected to become leaders in research and education ^[1]. The five-year, $517,000 grant supports a project titled A Computational Framework for Integrating Trust, Shared Awareness, and Joint Action in Human-AI Driving Teams, which concerns how people and artificial intelligence (AI) work together inside highly automated vehicles ^[1].

What the project sets out to do

The project does not cast the onboard AI as a passive instrument or as a system that cannot err. It treats the AI as a partner that exchanges information with the human, coordinates decisions with them and strengthens their awareness of the driving situation ^[1]. According to the story, Medina Lee holds that trusting automated systems too little or too much can both lead to risky behavior ^[1]. The project therefore seeks mechanisms that keep the relationship between drivers and AI in balance ^[1].

The report describes two linked modeling goals ^[1]:

• Computational models that estimate how far users trust AI systems ^[1].
• Models that estimate how far those systems can trust the humans working with them, so that trust is examined in both directions ^[1].

The project rests on the view that human judgment still matters in complex driving situations, even as automation advances quickly ^[1].

Why it matters to research and grants staff

The story presents the grant as widening educational opportunities at RUM as well as pursuing its scientific aims ^[1]. The report says the funding will support graduate research, summer workshops for high school and university students, robotics competitions, and financial support for master's and doctoral students ^[1]. Medina Lee described the award as a defined research window: "This project gives us five years to advance research on collaborative vehicles, human–machine interaction and human factors in autonomous systems" ^[1]. For grant managers, the story shows one early-career award described as covering both a research agenda and student programs over the same five-year term ^[1].

University leadership also commented on the award ^[1]. UPR President Dr. Zayira Jordán Conde called it an acknowledgment of the quality of research at the university and of its work toward safer, more effective human–AI interaction ^[1]. Interim RUM Chancellor Miguel A. Muñoz pointed to Medina Lee's contributions to research in engineering, communications and computer science, and to the growing role of AI in real-world applications ^[1].

What to watch next

Medina Lee said the award confirms that human–AI teamwork deserves study now, as autonomous vehicles become more common in US cities ^[1]. The coverage leaves several points open ^[1]:

• Method and evaluation. The story does not say how trust will be measured, what data the models will use, or how their estimates will be tested against safety outcomes ^[1].
• The two-way trust model. The report states the aim of estimating how far a system can trust its human collaborator but does not describe how either direction will be modeled ^[1].
• Education delivery. The story lists workshops, competitions and student support but gives no schedules or eligibility details ^[1].

The story does not give a project start date or name any outside partners, so neither should be assumed ^[1].