Speaker presents to seated audience, with a screen showing university teams competing in an autonomous racing competition, including Purdue, TUM, KAIST, and others
Artificial Intelligence

Bringing People to up to Speed on AI and Self-Driving Cars  

November 13, 2025
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Bringing People to up to Speed on AI and Self-Driving Cars   

In November, the University of Virginia’s Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) continued its new speaker series, U Ask, UVA Answers, with Madhur Behl, a Computer Science professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Behl’s research spans robotics and autonomous systems and through this work he’s focused on harnessing the advances in AI and autonomous systems to produce safer self-driving vehicles. Specifically, his lab uses the extreme conditions of racing automated Formula1 race cars to help create autonomous vehicles that can safely handle the uncertainty of real-world driving.     

Madhur Behl talks to audience member at library

Madhur Behl answers questions about self-driving cars

UVA’s Cavalier Autonomous Racing team, of which Behl serves as lead PI and mentor, puts their vehicles to the test by racing them against leading international universities. In 2024, the team raced their fully autonomous Formula1 race car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy Autonomous Challenge. The UVA team triumphed over the competition, winning the challenge and a world record for a vehicle acceleration of 184mph.     

Behl explained that he and his team of UVA students will continue to test the limits of autonomous vehicles by shifting to different shaped race paths to optimize the ability of self-driving cars to adapt to new environments. Additionally, they will increase the number of autonomous cars on the roadway to understand how self-driving cars interact in stressful environments.     Behl’s presentation gave the Charlottesville community a meaningful glimpse into the School of Engineering’s imaginative research, sparking discussion and curiosity.   

The OVPR is excited to announce the continuation of the U Ask, UVA Answers speaker series this spring.

Beginning again in January, U Ask, UVA Answers will be hosted the second Sunday of each month at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s Downtown Branch. Each session will feature a new topic showcasing the exciting research taking place at UVA. Please join us: these events are free and open to all.

Watch the video about Madhur Behl’s talk by CBS 19 News.

 

 

Upcoming U Ask, UVA Answers events:   

  • January 11: Hamilton Lombard, Weldon Cooper Center

    Topic: Virginia Population changes and economics 

  • February 8: Kelsey Johnson, Astronomy 

    Topic: The Importance of Dark Skies 

  • March 8: Brian Davis and Michael Luegering, Landscape Architecture 

    Topic: How The Natural Infrastructure Lab researches ways to use landscape design to help with coastal resilience and flood protection. 

  • April 12: Kathleen McManus, Infectious Diseases, Medicine 

    Topic: Research on HIV and the health policies to help end the HIV epidemic