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

历史上的黑人学院和大学本科项目（HBCU- up）通过有针对性的输液项目支持基于证据的创新模式和方法的开发、实施和研究，以提高HBCU本科生的准备和成功，使他们可以攻读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方法，并通过应用学习活动增强概念知识。建议的活动，包括举办数据科学工作坊和会议，将进一步支持学生的学习，提高学生在研究生学习和/或未来就业机会方面的竞争力。这项拟议工作的目标是将数据科学注入课程，使学生在课程讲师的领导下，将他们的技能应用于探索以前使用传统方法无法获得的科学问题。例如，学生将使用高性能计算来检查被推断存在于当代人群基因组中的古人类祖先的水平。该项目将支持600多名少数族裔本科生在整个生物学课程中学习数据科学的前沿方法，提高他们在研究生学习和/或未来在各种环境中就业的竞争力，包括生物医学和环境科学、研究教育和公共服务。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.