Targeted Infusion Project: Inspiring, Engaging and Retaining Underrepresented Students in Computing Research and the Emerging Field of Data Science

历史黑人学院和大学本科项目(HBCU-UP)通过有针对性的灌输项目，支持基于证据的创新模式和方法的开发、实施和研究，以改善HBCU本科生的准备和成功，使他们能够攻读STEM研究生课程和/或职业。霍华德大学的这个项目旨在向本科生介绍数据科学的方法，并通过应用学习活动增强概念知识。拟议的活动，包括举办数据科学研讨会和会议，将进一步支持学生的学习，提高学生对研究生学习和/或未来就业机会的竞争力。这项拟议工作的目标是将数据科学融入课程，使学生能够在课程教师的领导下，将他们的技能应用于探索以前无法用传统方法解决的科学问题。例如，学生将使用高性能计算来检查已推断存在于当代人类基因组中的古人类祖先的水平。该项目将在整个生物学课程中支持600多名少数族裔本科生在数据科学尖端方法方面的培训，提高他们在研究生学习和/或未来各种环境下的就业能力方面的竞争力，包括在生物医学和环境科学、研究教育和公共服务方面。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. This project at Howard University intends is to introduce undergraduate students to data science approaches and to enhance conceptual knowledge through applied learning activities. Proposed activities which include the hosting of data science workshops and conferences will further support student learning and increase student competitiveness for graduate studies and/or future employment opportunities.The objective of this proposed work is to infuse data science into the curriculum which will enable students under the leadership of the course instructor to apply their skills to the exploration of scientific questions that were previously inaccessible using traditional approaches. For example, students will use High Performance Computing to examine levels of archaic human ancestry that have been inferred to be present in the genomes of contemporary populations. The project will support the training of over 600 minority undergraduate students in cutting-edge methods in data science throughout the Biology curriculum, increasing their competitiveness for graduate studies and/or future employability in a variety of settings, including in biomedical and environmental sciences, research education, and public service.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.