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

> The San Juan Daily Star reports that Juan F. Medina Lee of UPR–Mayagüez received a five-year, $517,000 NSF CAREER grant to model trust in both directions between people and AI in automated vehicles.

AMDana Desk · 2026-10-13 · https://blog.amdana.app/uprmayaguez-researcher-wins-nsf-career-award-to-model-two-way-humanai-driving-tr

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].

## References

1. sanjuandailystar.com. UPR–Mayagüez professor wins prestigious NSF CAREER award for research on Human–AI collaboration in autonomous vehicles. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/upr-mayag%C3%BCez-professor-wins-prestigious-nsf-career-award-for-research-on-human-ai-collaboration-in-a