Cal Poly Pomona Receives $7.5M NSF Grant to Launch National Smart Manufacturing Research Center

By Jason Gigax November 7, 2025

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) a $7.5 million grant, one of the largest in the university’s history, to establish the Center for Research Advancement in Smart Manufacturing (CREST-RASM). The new center will serve as a national hub for advancing intelligent, secure, and sustainable manufacturing systems that integrate artificial intelligence and digital technologies across industrial sectors.

Led by Dr. Shokoufeh Mirzaei, professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, the center’s research will focus on four key areas that underpin Industry 4.0 innovation:

Robotics and automation (led by Associate Professor Ellips Masehian)
Digital twin technology (Aerospace Engineering Professor Zahra Sotoudeh)
Extended reality (XR) (Computer Science Assistant Professor Fatemeh Jamshidi)
Cybersecurity (Computer Science Assistant Professor Mingyan Xiao)

By combining these areas, CREST-RASM aims to create intelligent manufacturing systems that are not only more efficient and sustainable but also more resilient to cyber threats and capable of supporting critical national infrastructure.

“The research at CREST-RASM will drive transformative advances in smart manufacturing that directly support national security, sustainability, and economic resilience,” Mirzaei said. “This grant empowers us to prepare a new generation of engineers and scientists equipped with the knowledge and tools to strengthen America’s leadership in intelligent and secure manufacturing systems.”

The center will provide hands-on research opportunities for more than 120 students, including 80 undergraduates and 40 graduate students, and will engage hundreds of K–12 and community college learners through outreach and mentoring programs. To strengthen academic and workforce pathways, CREST-RASM will collaborate with the University of California, Riverside through the CPP–UCR STEM Ph.D. Bridge Program, providing access to robotics and AI research facilities, joint faculty mentorship, and federally funded projects.

A partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will further expand national collaboration through summer research exchanges that connect students with emerging technologies and industry partners in smart manufacturing.

The new center builds on Cal Poly Pomona’s “learn-by-doing” model and its growing investment in applied research infrastructure. It complements the recently established Vy and Timothy Li Automation Lab, which provides real-world training in industrial robotics, smart sensors, and automated production systems.

Together, these initiatives position CPP as a leader in applied AI, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing education, while contributing to U.S. efforts to ensure technological competitiveness and workforce readiness in critical sectors.