University of Texas at Austin
Jah Decision Intelligence Group

Jah Decision Intelligence Group

From Data to Discernment

The Jah Decision Intelligence Group (JDIG) explores how knowledge arises, evolves, and guides action in complex, uncertain domains. We focus not on simplification, but on honoring the full epistemic landscape, where uncertainty is not noise to be minimized, but structure to be understood. Our work lies at the intersection of dynamical systems, possibility theory, information theory, and ethical AI.

We design systems that reason, not just compute. That decide, not just simulate. That explain, not just predict. Our goal is to enable inference architectures that support planetary stewardship, space security, and decision-making under deep uncertainty.

Core Thrusts

  • Epistemic Inference and Possibility Theory
    Modeling uncertainty where data is sparse, ambiguous, or contested, not through optimization, but through compatibility and surprise.
  • Space Object Behavior and Decision Intelligence
    From satellite anomaly detection to space traffic coordination, we develop frameworks that, inter alia, contextualize and interpret orbital behaviors.
  • Agentic Knowledge Graphs and Abductive Reasoning
    Building self-reflective AI systems that connect facts, hypotheses, and actions through structured, explainable graphs.
  • Digital Twins for Dynamic Domains
    Real-time, physics-informed replicas of systems, from orbital regimes to environmental processes, for monitoring, diagnostics, and intelligent intervention.

Philosophy of Knowing

We believe:

  1. Measurements yield data
  2. Data have structure, aleatory or epistemic
  3. Structure supports models; models support inference
  4. Inference enables prediction and decision
  5. Prediction must be falsifiable, explainable, and ethically grounded

Knowledge is not the end of ignorance. It is what remains when ignorance is removed with care, rigor, and purpose.

 

Directors

Moriba Jah
Moriba Jah
Computational Astronautics Data Science

Faculty and Research Staff

Brandon A. Jones
Brandon A. Jones
Uncertainty Quantification Computational Astronautics Data Science
Renato Zanetti
Renato Zanetti
Autonomy Inverse Problems Scientific Machine Learning

Postdocs

Students

Staff

Members outside the Oden Institute

Hariskumar Sellamuthu

News in brief

Why We Need to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in Space

Media Coverage

Feb. 12, 2025

Why We Need to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in Space

Moriba Jah says it's time to apply the three "R's" to space debris.

Read more at scientificamerican

Two Oden Institute Researchers Win Jean-Pierre Le Cadre Best Paper Award

News

Sept. 23, 2024

Two Oden Institute Researchers Win Jean-Pierre Le Cadre Best Paper Award

Oden Institute researchers Renato Zanetti and Andrey Popov received a prestigious award from the International Society of Information Fusion. 

Read more

Longhorns Helm Cutting-Edge Lunar Technologies

Media Coverage

Sept. 3, 2024

Longhorns Helm Cutting-Edge Lunar Technologies

Foundational work being done by UT faculty, alumni, and students on the infrastructure that will enable astronauts and robots to safely move through cislunar space.

In late 2023, a team of UT faculty and students led by associate professors of aerospace engineering Brandon Jones (Oden Institute affliated faculty), and Renato Zanetti, (Oden Institute core faculty), were part of a team developing algorithms that use craters and other features on the lunar surface to precisely pinpoint a spacecraft’s location. 

Read more at texasexes