Willcox Research Group
From Data to Decisions in Complex Systems
The Willcox Research Group is developing scalable computational methods for design of next-generation engineered systems. The group has a particular focus on scientific machine learning and model reduction as a way to learn principled approximations from data, and on multifidelity formulations to leverage multiple sources of uncertain information.
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Directors
Karen E. Willcox
Faculty and Research Staff
Staff
News in brief
Media Coverage
Sept. 9, 2026
The HPCWire 35 Legends 2026
Oden Institute Director Karen Willcox has been named one of HPCwire's 35 Legends for 2026 for her research as an "Architect of the Digital Twins Future." Her research on digital twins, from aerospace to cancer treatment, has helped shape the field nationally, including leading the 2024 National Academies' study on digital twins.
News
Sept. 7, 2026
Fusion Energy Seed Grants Launch New Interdisciplinary Collaborations at UT Austin
Faculty at UT Austin, including Oden Institute faculty, have been awarded seed grants to unite fusion physicists, engineers and computational scientists while training graduate students for careers in fusion energy. The projects will develop faster, AI-assisted tools for plasma control, liquid-metal reactor materials, magnetic confinement and plasma-edge simulations.
News
July 22, 2026
Oden Institute Faculty Selected for Four Projects in Department of Energy's AI-for-Science "Genesis Mission"
Oden Institute faculty will be contributing to four projects that address national priorities in the areas of rare earth minerals, digital twins for fusion energy reactors, additive manufacturing, and digital twins for efficient nuclear energy.