Damian Valles Molina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
Ingram School of Engineering
Smart City Firefighting: Autonomous Data Collection and Machine Learning for Improved Response
Research Area:
High-performance computing, machine/deep/reinforced learning, embedded edge systems, virtual and augmented reality, and robotics.
Faculty Fellows Project:
Dr. Damian Valles will develop and deploy an advanced AI system of autonomous units (rovers and drones) designed to help first responders navigate fires in multi-story buildings by detecting heat signatures, human screams, and toxic gases. His research aims to increase rescue efficiency, ensure firefighter safety, and allow for better decision-making during emergency responses. This project contributes to the health and resilience of both first responders and the public because healthy first responders are critical to maintaining a healthy community. More about this project can be found on his research site.
Background:
Dr. Valles' areas of research include robotics, high-performance computing, machine learning, and embedded system implementations. He is the Director of HiPE Research Group, and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM’s Special Interest Group HPC (SIGHPC), and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
Dr. Valles is a professor at Texas State’s Ingram School of Engineering. He graduated with a BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso.