Austin Downey

Dr. Austin Downey is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina's Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, with joint appointments in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Civil Engineering. He leads the Adaptive Real-Time Systems Laboratory (ARTS-Lab) and co-founded the High-rate Structural Monitoring Working Group.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics and Wind Energy Science, Engineering, and Policy - Iowa State University (2018)
• B.S. in Civil Engineering - Iowa State University (2014)

His research focuses on developing real-time adaptive systems for mechanical structures operating in extreme environments. Key areas include:

• Low-latency machine learning algorithms for real-time state estimation
• Physics-informed decision-making for hypersonic vehicles and blast mitigation
• Smart sensing technologies including sensing skins and structural control devices
• In-situ monitoring of additively manufactured components

Recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on physics-informed machine learning applications for structural dynamics, with emerging work in real-time system validation and digital twins.

Research Funding:

• NSF CRII: Algorithms for Real-Time Decision-Making ($175,000)
• NSF RTML: Programming Model for Real-time Machine Learning ($259,785)
• AFOSR DURIP: Real-Time Edge Computing in Structures ($201,882)

Dr. Downey directs the ARTS-Lab, which develops tools for real-time system adaptation, and coordinates an interdisciplinary working group focused on high-rate structural health monitoring challenges.