REU Sites: Interdisciplinary Graphics Research in Rhode Island

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

Title: REU Sites: Interdisciplinary Graphics Research in Rhode Island PI: Joan Peckham Institution: University of Rhode Island REU Site: Research Experiences in Computer Science for Students at Undergraduate Institutions This REU will address undergraduate retention rates, especially among women and minorities, by providing an interdisciplinary research experience in computer graphics, visualization, with supporting database and conceptual design techniques. The primary focus is students from undergraduate art and computer science programs in Rhode Island. Students from other institutions nationwide will also be invited to participate. There will be a preference to students from schools where no formal research programs are in place. The applications will be interdisciplinary in nature and will be from a number of domains to take advantage of the existing skills and interests of the students. The research projects will present opportunities for the students to apply their skills in a technical arena. A special focus is graphical design, art and new media as the partnership of design and technology is vitally important in computer graphics applications. In this REU eight to ten students each year over the summer and the fall semester will conduct a self-contained research project that takes each student completely through the research process from proposal to implementation, and through data assessment and preparation for publication. Students will work on compelling problems that link graphics research with activities that benefit society. The expected outcomes include higher computer science retention rates, greater numbers of students who are women and from minority groups who continue in computer science and related majors, higher recruitment rates to graduate programs, and the development and use of technology transfer skills among those students who continue to careers in industry. Another outcome will be publications that the REU students co-author to advance knowledge and understanding in the area of graphics and graphical design. The intent is for the REU student participants to become leaders of a new generation of computer scientists, aligned with the intellectual rigor of their mentors, and able to flourish as productive members of an intellectually and culturally diverse society. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) and the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) at NSF.