The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. University of the District of Columbia (UDC) aspires to strengthen and enhance undergraduate STEM education at the university by providing new learning experiences in Cyber-Physical Systems and Machine Learning.
Integral to the project’s goal are its three objectives. The first objective is to complete the development of three new courses designed to enrich the knowledge base of undergraduate students majoring in Computer Engineering. The second objective is the recruitment of prospective students (with special emphasis on students who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields) from area community colleges to pursue the Bachelor of Science degree in computer science at UDC. The described outreach program seeks to prepare, and guide recruited students for careers in STEM in general, and cyber-physical systems and machine learning, more specifically. The third objective is to expose DC area high school students, UDC undergraduates, and UDC faculty to current trends in Cyber-Physical Systems research and machine learning. The Cyber-Physical Systems Summer Outreach Program will expose, train, and mentor the DC area high school students to pursue the BS in Computer Engineering. Ultimately, the project will engage undergraduate students from the university and surrounding community colleges, university faculty, and area high school students in these innovative fields so that they are prepared to contribute to (1) national (and international) conversations and/or innovation in large-scale cyber-physical systems and applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
