REU Site: Enhancing Undergraduate Experience in Mobile Cloud Computing

Temple University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Temple University. Each summer a cohort of undergraduate students will work with Temple faculty in small groups to design, implement, and evaluate research projects involving mobile computing, wireless communication, and cloud computing. Mobile cloud computing is an emerging research area and of interest to students as well as industry. The research projects involve small, mobile devices such as smartphones empowered by the abundant resources of the cloud for exploration of novel applications such as crowdsourcing and participatory sensing. Thus the students and researchers have the opportunity to explore problems that are important and timely and relevant to all our citizens. This project builds human capacity in computing and communications research and knowledge. The program will provide experiences to undergraduate students that may influence their choices about further education and future careers and continue to give them confidence to pursue these choices and thus increase the size and diversity of the scientific workforce. The site will focus on recruiting students from 2 and 4 year institutions near Philadelphia and will particularly seek students from groups under-represented in computing fields. The students will participate in professional development activities that make them more aware of graduate school and professional aspects of a computing career. Students will also have access to and internal supercomputer and cloud cluster. Thus the students will be able to use the state-of-the-art facilities available at the university and interact with an experienced faculty team to conduct challenging and timely research on emerging technologies that are becoming pervasive in our society.