UPR obtains $9 million from NSF for artificial-intelligence research

On July 19, 2026, NotiCel reports that the University of Puerto Rico received a $9 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a research initiative in artificial intelligence, resilient energy systems, and other areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The project is called Research Infrastructure for AI-based Sustainable STEM Technologies in Puerto Rico, RAIS-PR. It was selected, according to the outlet, under the EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems program, E-CORE.

The initiative is led by the Mayagüez University Campus, in collaboration with the Río Piedras Campus and the units of Aguadilla, Arecibo, Bayamón, Carolina, Cayey, Humacao, Ponce, and Utuado. The Ana G. Méndez University System also takes part. UPR president Zayira Jordán Conde says the award recognizes the institution's scientific capacity and will expand research and training opportunities. The principal investigator is Dr. Vidya Manian; the co-investigators NotiCel names are Heeralal Janwa, Dibin M. George, Venkataramani Kumar, and Jesús A. Sánchez Pérez.

Vidya Manian, according to the note, seeks an interconnected research ecosystem that facilitates advanced infrastructure and accelerates technologies. She speaks of artificial intelligence applied to resilient energy systems, quantum sensors, secure communications, advanced computing, and sustainable technologies, and of training graduate and undergraduate students. Those lines come from the coverage. There is no annual breakdown of the $9 million here, nor a count of new posts.

This grant is not mixed with the $3.64 million that Radio Isla attributed on July 6 to the Financial Oversight Board for UPR internships and technical assistance. An NSF prize and a Board line item are two sources and two dates. It is also not used to verify the coincident contraction index that Sin Comillas published on July 17. Federal research and the local economic cycle stay separate.

NotiCel does not turn RAIS-PR into a census of laboratories or a judgment on the electric grid. The reader who wants the university statement or the E-CORE text has the URL at the foot. This is not original reporting.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/noticias/20260719/upr-obtiene-subvencion-de-9-millones-de-la-nsf-para-investigacion-en-inteligencia-artificial/