Eric P. Xing, associate professor of computer science, machine learning and language technology, is one of 38 scientists and engineers chosen for funding through the U.S. Air Force's highly competitive 2010 Young Investigator Research Program.

Xing was awarded a five-year, $600,000 grant for his winning research proposal, "SocioScape: Real-time Analysis and Mining of Dynamic Networks in Complex Socio-Cultural Systems." The Air Force Office of Scientific Research selected the proposal from among 202 submitted for this year's program. Alan J. H. McGaughey, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, also was chosen for the 2010 program.

The program is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in the last five years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research.