Grants, Recognitions & Awards

Major Grants and External Funding

• NSF Award #2319157 (PI)
  ATD: Stochastic Obstacle Scene Problem with Adversarial Agents
  $300,000    (2023–2026)
• ONR Grant #N00014-22-1-2572 (PI)
  Adversarial Risk Analysis for Optimal Obstacle Evasion
  $358,000    (2022–2025)
• Simons Collaboration Grant (MPS-TSM-00855850)
  Graph Theoretic Learning and Spatial Methods
  $42,000    (2021–2026)
• NSF Award DMS-1638521 (Co-PI & Deputy Director, SAMSI)
  Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute
  $3,097,333/year    (2017–2020)
• Marie Curie IOF (EU-FP7)
  PRinHDD – Pattern Recognition in High Dimensional Data
  €233,921    (2013–2015)
• TÜBİTAK 1001 Research Grant (PI)
  July 2012 – July 2013
• TÜBİTAK Career Development Grant (PI)
  February 2008 – February 2011

Fellowships and Institutional Awards

• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, 2025
• Marguerite Scharnagle Endowed Professorship
  College of Sciences and Mathematics, Auburn University (2024)
• Marie Kraska Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Auburn University (2024)
• Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award (2024)
• Member, Global Teaching Academy and Phi Beta Delta Honor Society (2024)
• TWAS Young Affiliate Fellow (2012–2016)
• Elected Member, International Statistical Institute (ISI) (since 2011)
• Global Young Academy Member (2013–2018)
• Research Fellow, SAMSI (2013–2014)
• Harvard–Koç Visiting Scholarship (Summer 2007)
• Abel Wolman Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University (2000–2001)
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (1999)

Public Recognition and Media Features

• Featured in Auburn Stories as part of AI Across Campus series for my two AI-integrated teaching contributions to “AI in Teaching and Learning Showcase” with the title "Faculty implementations leading curriculum advancement", Auburn News, June 23, 2025, which was also highlighted in AU Wire.
• Organizing Chair, ASA AL–MS 2025 Annual Meeting,
  Featured in MSU News and NewsBreak: MSU News | NewsBreak
  Featured in AMSTAT News for advancing regional collaboration and student achievement.
• Contributor, Biggio Center AI Showcase (2025)
  Reflections: “Compare Traditional Computational Results to AI-Enhanced Analysis” and “Student Perspectives on AI in Education”
• Featured on MathInstitutes.org Highlights for co-organizing the Statistics in the Criminal Justice System Workshop (co-hosted by SAMSI and North Carolina Central University), March 24, 2018.
• Featured in IMS Bulletin and IMS News for co-chairing the Local Organizing Committee of the Eighth World Congress in Probability and Statistics, Istanbul, Turkey (July 2012). The Congress hosted over 750 participants from 61 countries and included 14 plenary lectures, 40 invited sessions, and 91 contributed sessions. Coverage appeared in IMS Bulletin, Vol. 41, No. 6 (September 2012), pp. 5–6.
• Featured Article, VerticalNews for Computational Geometry publication (2010)
• Statistician Job of the Week, Statistics2013.org (Oct 2013)
• Featured in: Marie Curie Alumni Association Newsletter (2015), KU Alumni E-Bulletin (2005), and Kule Magazine (2009)
• Marquis Who’s Who listings:
  Who’s Who in the World (2010–2016), Who’s Who in America (2018), Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)

Travel and Conference Awards

• Funded attendance at ISI World Congresses: Durban (2009), Hong Kong (2013), Rio (2015)
• Participant: Global Young Academy Meeting, Santiago, Chile (2014)
• European Science Foundation Scholarship — IASC-ERS Summer School, Pamporovo, Bulgaria (2009)

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