Collaborative Research: CISE Crosscutting Small: SaTC: Privacy-Preserving Synthetic Data Generation

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $274,847 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform many areas of life – like healthcare, education, and finance – but it needs access to data to learn and improve. A lot of the most useful data in the nation is locked away in places like hospitals, research labs, and private companies, where it cannot easily be shared because of privacy concerns. This slows down the development of AI in these important domains. One promising solution is synthetic data – data that's created by computer programs trained on real data. It looks and behaves like real data but does not contain any personal information. This project aims to develop techniques to let organizations take part in the synthetic data creation process without ever revealing their real data. These techniques use AI and encryption to keep the original data secure while still helping to generate useful synthetic versions. Such technology is especially impactful in domains where real data is currently distributed across organizations, such as data of patients with rare diseases. The project builds research capacity at the University of Washington Tacoma, an emerging research institution, in partnership with the University of Central Florida. It creates valuable opportunities for students to participate in research, thereby strengthening the future AI and security workforce. This project advances the state-of-the-art for privacy-preserving data sharing through the development of Secure Multiparty Computation (MPC)

Key facts

NSF award ID
2523406
Awardee
University of Washington (WA)
SAM.gov UEI
HD1WMN6945W6
PI
Martine De Cock
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
SaTC: Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace, Machine Learning Theory, SMALL PROJECT, UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, GRADUATE INVOLVEMENT
Estimated total
$274,847
Funds obligated
$274,847
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
10/01/2025 → 09/30/2027