Building Research Capabilities of Academically Talented Undergraduate Students from Hispanic-Serving Institutions through Virtual Research Experiences
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption in society across all sectors with widespread loss of internships, jobs, and undergraduate research experiences that negatively impact the talent pipeline in computing fields and the future of U.S. innovation. Such disruptions are likely to occur in the near future, and the U.S. must be well-prepared in offering effective virtual internships and undergraduate research experiences to expand learning and professional development opportunities, especially for minoritized undergraduate students. Thus, this project will address this exigency by refining a proven model for developing professional, research, team, and communication skills so that it will be effective in a virtual environment.
With support from the RAPID program, this project aims to provide academically talented students with research experiences that are critical for graduate studies. The project will ensure that students from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences will be engaged in impactful research projects. Equally important is that underserved students will receive funding that will, in part, support continuation of their education. The proposed project will provide faculty professional development in the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model, a Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) signature and proven practice for immersing students in research. Faculty will also learn how to incorporate ARG elements into classroom pedagogical practice to improve teaching and learning. The effort will lead to a national community of faculty who are skilled at undergraduate research mentoring informed by the ARG model and who grow through their involvement with a cohort of researchers and participation in ARG interactive webinars. The proposed effort has the following objectives:
- Establish a process to select a faculty cohort of research mentors who have well-defined research project(s), including definition of intellectual merit.
- Provide a mandatory virtual ARG workshop orientation for the faculty cohort.
- Establish a process to select students based on financial need, academic record, and references.
- Build a national community of faculty and undergraduate researchers.
- Prepare students for virtual poster presentations by all participants.
The evaluation will examine whether student perceptions of computer science and their career goals change after participation in a virtual REU. The evaluation will identify the practices that worked and those that were less successful for the virtual REUs. In addition, the evaluation will document the benefit to faculty, if any, of joining a cohort community in support of research with undergraduate student from underrepresented groups. The evaluation questions addressed will be the following: What are the best practices in computing education for virtual REUs? and How do faculty benefit from joining a cohort community in support of undergraduate student research?
A broader impact is the development of a model for virtual undergraduate research experiences that can benefit students who do not have the ability to travel to remote REUs because of family obligations. Broadening participation of minoritized students in research can increase the motivation and interest of those students who pursue graduate studies in computing, and studies have shown that inclusion of diverse perspectives in problem solving can lead to novel and transformative solutions.
Funding: NSF

Andrea Corrales
Northeastern Illinois University
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Angelica Walker
University of California Merced
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Anibely Torres
Kean University
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Anthony Diaz
Kean University
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Brayan Garcia Pong
The University of Texas at El Paso
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Elizabeth Soto
Northeastern Illinois University
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Emilio Ramirez
The University of Texas at El Paso
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Eric Landaverde
Kean University
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Felix Rodriguez
Florida International University
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Jacob Whitlow
California State University, Fresno
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Jason Castillo
New York City College of Technology
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Jennifer Ly
California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Megan Phillips
Merced College
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Michael Segovia
The University of Texas at San Antonio
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Nathaniel Valdez-Cagua
Kean University
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Phillip Aguilera
California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Rachel Varghese
California State University Long Beach
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Ricardo Sillas
The University of Texas at El Paso
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Shagota Dasgupta
New York City College of Technology
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Outstanding Research and Elevator Speech

Gabriel Soto
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Mentor: Jose Baca, TAMU-CC
Assessing Rehabilitation Exercises via Movement Pattern Recognition
Video Link

Juliana Judge
Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi
Mentor: Jenn Li, Kean University
Where is the Boundary of Deep Learning Capability?
Video Link
Outstanding Research Award

Gabriel Lopez Lugo
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Mentor: Jenn Li, Kean University
Optimal Deep Learning Neural Network Designs
Poster Link

Cristopher Rosado Miranda
University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo
Mentor: Jose Baca, TAMU-CC
Monitoring Astronaut’s Performance Based on Patterns Assessment
Poster Link

Jesus Vega
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Mentor: M. Shahab, CSU-Fresno
Performance Analysis of Hashing Schemes in HDMA
Poster Link
Outstanding Elevator Speech

Petra Bazan
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Mentor: Eliana Valenzuela, UPR-A
Understanding the Underrepresentation of Hispanics in Computing and Improving Outreach Programs for Hispanic Women
Video Link

Ging Gonzalez
San Jose State University
Mentor: Marvin Andujar, UCF
A Motor Imagery-Based Virtual Brain-Controlled Drone to Increase User’s Attention Retention: A Face Recognition Approach
Video Link

Preston McCullough
California State University – Fresno
Mentor: Dvijesh Shastri, UHD
Classifying Food Dishes: A Deep Learning Approach
Video Link
Honorable Mention: Elevator Speech

Jennifer Nwogu
University of Houston-Downtown
Mentor: Marvin Andujar, UCF
A Motor Imagery-Based Virtual Brain-Controlled Drone to Increase User’s Attention Retention: Quantified-Self Profile for Tracking Affective and Time Completion Data
Video Link

Ramon Rosado
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Mentor: Marcelo Sztainberg, NEIU
Defining a Similarity Index to Improve Image Appropriateness Analysis by Association
Video Link
Alberto Melchor-Maldonado University of California, Merced Mentor: Salam Daher, NJIT Tracking Eye Gaze of Trainees in Virtual Patient Simulations |
Andrei Georgescu San Francisco State University Mentor: Juan Li, KEAN The Limitations of Deep Learning Recurrent Neural Networks |
Angelina Plaza New Mexico State University Mentor: Mira Franke, KEAN Autonomous Drone Code |
Anissa Champion Kean University Mentor: Juan Li, KEAN Interfacing AI and Human |
Cristopher Rosado University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo Mentor: Jose Baca, TAMUCC Monitoring Astronaut’s Performance Based on Patterns Assessment |
Daniel Ramirez Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi Mentor: Eliana Valenzuela, UPR Understanding/Improving Local Computing Relate Careers Outreach Programs During and After COVID-19 |
Diego Pérez University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Mentor: Marcelo Sztainberg, NEIU Applying Sentiment Analysis on Twitter to Follow the Progression of COVID-19 |
Diego Rosario-Vega University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Jose Baca, TAMUCC Connector Mechanism with Data/Power Transfer Capabilities |
Eric Landaverde Kean University Mentor: Aber Aljarrah, SFSU Learning Under Lockdown: The Challenge of Effective Computer Science Instruction in Higher Education |
Gabriel Lopez Lugo University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Juan Li, KEAN Optimal Deep Learning Neural Network Designs |
Gabriel Soto University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Jose Baca, TAMUCC Assessing Rehabilitation Exercises via Movement Pattern Recognition |
Ging Gonzalez San Jose State University Mentor: Marvin Andujar, USF A Motor Imagery-Based Virtual Brain-Controlled Drone to Increase User’s Attention Retention: A Face Recognition Approach |
Hiram Vera Mercado University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo Mentor: Navid Amini, CSULA Data Analytics and Visualization: Determining Factors Related to Poor Prognosis in COVID-19 Patients |
Jade Jimenez California State University – Fresno Mentor: Salam Daher, NJIT Towards an Autonomous Drone |
Jael Gonzalez University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Tao Wang, NMSU JavaScript Deployment on the Internet and Its Security from Scale Perspective |
Jennifer Mondragon Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi Mentor: Martine Ceberio, UTEP Theoretical Foundations of Neural Networks |
Jennifer Nwogu University of Houston-Downtown Mentor: Marvin Andujar, USF A Motor Imagery-Based Virtual Brain-Controlled Drone to Increase User’s Attention Retention: Quantified-Self Profile for Tracking Affective and Time Completion Data |
Jesus Vega University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Shahab Tayeb, CSU Fresno Performance Analysis of Hashing Schemes in HDMA |
Joan John Kean University Mentor: Shahab Tayeb, CSU Fresno In-Vehicle Network Communication CAN-Bus Security and Vulnerabilities |
Jonathan Rivera Kean University Mentor: Vladik Kreinovich, UTEP How to Extend Interval Arithmetic So That Inverse and Division Are Always Defined |
Jose Alicea Kean University Mentor: Aber Aljarrah, SFSU Privacy and Security in Healthcare |
Jose Alvarado University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Mentor: Omar Badreddin, UTEP Predicting Software Evolution with Machine Learning to Enhance Upfront Software Design |
Jose Otero University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Marvin Andujar, USF Implementing Alpha and Beta White Noise in a Brain-Controlled Drone Simulation |
Jose Tua University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Eliana Valenzuela, UPR Understanding and Improving the Underrepresentation of Hispanic/Latino Computing Students |
Juan Ayala University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo Mentor: Shahab Tayeb, CSU Fresno Comparison of Network Access Technologies in the Automotive Industry |
Julianna Judge Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi Mentor: Juan Li, KEAN Where is the Boundary of Deep Learning Capability? |
Mairim Figueroa University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (UPRRP) Mentor: Martine Ceberio, UTEP Local Re-Computation for On-the-Fly Changes in Dynamical Systems Parameters |
Maria Moreno Kean University Mentor: Bhrigu Celly, CSUDH Car Damage Classification Using a Convolutional Neural Network |
Montserrat Molina University of Texas at El Paso Mentor: Omar Badreddin, UTEP Predicting Software Evolution with Machine Learning to Enhance Upfront Software Design |
Naomy Morales University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Matin Pirouz, CSU Fresno Early Detection of Brain Disease using CNNs |
Natalie Christie San Francisco State University Mentor: Omar Badreddin, UTEP Predictive Software Design: Using Data Analysis to Reduce Software Maintenance |
Natasha Ramos University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo Mentor: Martine Ceberio, UTEP Local Retraining of Neural Networks |
Neil Tellez Kean University Mentor: Bhrigu Celly, CSUDH Car Damage Classification Using a Convolutional Neural Network |
Nicholas Grijalva New Mexico State University Mentor: Pablo Rangel, TAMUCC Developing Foraging Algorithms for Swarm Robots to Find and Collect Resources on Mars |
Petra Bazan University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Mentor: Eliana Valenzuela, UPR Understanding the Underrepresentation of Hispanics in Computing and Improving Outreach Programs for Hispanic Women |
Phillip Aguilera California State University – Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Mobile Infrared Temperature Analysis for COVID-19 with Machine Learning and Computer Vision |
Preston McCullough California State University – Fresno Mentor: Dvijesh Shastri, UHD Classifying Food Dishes: A Deep Learning Approach |
Ramón E. Rosado Rivera University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Mentor: Marcelo Sztainberg, NEIU Defining a Similarity Index to Improve Image Appropriateness Analysis by Association |
Rodolfo Higuera University of California, Merced Mentor: Pablo Rangel, TAMUCC Developing Foraging Algorithms for Swarm Robots to Find and Collect Resources on Mars |
Sofía I. Crespo Maldonado University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Mentor: Alireza Izaddoost, CSUDH Traffic Sign Recognition Using Deep Learning |
Tahea Hossain University of California, Merced Mentor: Vladik Kreinovich, UTEP How to Extend Interval Arithmetic So That Inverse and Division are Always Defined |
Yareth Melendez Inter American University of Puerto Rico Mentor: Matin Pirouz, CSU Fresno Early Detection of Brain Disease using CNN’s |
Yash Sharma University of California, Merced Mentor: Vladik Kreinovich, UTEP How to Extend Interval Arithmetic So That Inverse and Division Are Always Defined |