REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Smart Environments

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site renewal is to offer a unique training opportunity for undergraduates to conduct research in the multidisciplinary area of smart environments, such as homes that are enhanced by information technology to meet residents' needs in a sophisticated and helpful manner. The American population is aging; therefore research is needed to understand the effects of aging and to find ways of allowing older adults and individuals with disabilities to lead independent lives at home. This REU project facilitates research and training in the complementary disciplines of computer science, electrical engineering, psychology, and health care. Because some of the students will be living in apartments that also serve as test sites, they will be fully immersed in the project. It will also make a contribution to a generation whose workforce is trained in multiple, complementary disciplines. The planned recruitment effort and strong mentoring component will spread knowledge of the benefits of the REU program among the targeted populations, resulting in broadening participation in engineering and related disciplines for many years to come. This REU project will continue a tradition of specifically targeting involvement with women and students from underrepresented groups. This project will enable high quality interdisciplinary research that links design of technology with health-based applications and creates new opportunities for undergraduates to study health and human behavior using the technology. Students will not only be exposed to research environments and techniques, but they will also learn to work with students and faculty in other fields as well. Knowledge from computer science, electrical engineering, psychology, health care, and from other REU programs, is needed to create a smart environment, because an effective smart environment cannot be adequately designed without researching these topics in fully interactive ways, and because a creative smart environment design in turn opens the door to new avenues of health and science research. This interdisciplinary effort is valuable for undergraduate students to research ideas that will have a significant impact on their community. Results of this program, including descriptions of student projects, lessons learned, and quantitative and qualitative feedback, will be disseminated via the program website (reu.eecs.wsu.edu).