Enriching Computing Curricula through HPC Teaching and Research

Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View TX

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project at Prairie View A&M University is to improve undergraduate computing education through enhanced courses and research opportunities that incorporate high performance computing (HPC) training that will stimulate students' interest in computing and strengthen their computational problem-solving skills. This project leverages faculty expertise, institutional commitment, industry and federal support to elevate students' computing-related skills and education. This project is a collaboration of faculty members from three departments - Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering Technology - to develop a diverse high performance computing environment and use it to improve HPC-related education and training at the institution. Six courses will be redesigned to include both embedded and cluster HPC platforms and integrate research topics of the project faculty members. In addition, faculty members will develop new courses in the areas of parallel computing, machine learning, and computer vision. The proposed HPC platforms can easily be expanded to support other disciplines in science technology, engineering, and mathematics. This project addresses a national need to provide trained graduates in the computing sciences in order to help the U.S. retain its technological competitiveness. Almost 500 undergraduate students, the majority of whom are African American, will be impacted during the three project years. Each year, high school teachers and university faculty members will receive training. Research data, source code, and curriculum materials generated by this project will be posted online and disseminated in conferences and publications for the research and educational community.