SIPHER : Summer Internship Program in Hybrid and Embedded Software Research

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SIPHER Summer Internship Program in Hybrid and
Embedded Software Research

• William H. Robinson
• ISIS
• Vanderbilt University

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Increasing Minority Graduates
Minority students suffer from the absence of
minority role models in the classroom. But too
few minority students are encouraged and guided
into graduate education so that they can
ultimately become faculty members who can inspire
and educate even more minority students.
Dr. John Brooks SlaughterPresident and CEOChief
Operating OfficerNational Action Council for
Minorities in Engineering (NACME)
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(No Transcript)
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SIPHER Mission
We will design the program to motivate the best
undergraduate students from women and minority
groups to go to graduate programs in CS and EE.
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SIPHER Overview

• Ingredients
• Funding NSF and cost sharing from university
• Size 7 students (full NSF stipend) 4 intern
  students (VU funding) and 2 faculty (50 summer
  support)
• For faculty summer school on how to teach new
  courses with provided courseware material
• For students research experience on project
• Website
• http//fountain.isis.vanderbilt.edu/fountain/Teach
  ing

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Research Experience for Students

• Participants
• 7 students (4 females, 5 minorities) 4 interns
  
• All from HBCUs
• Schedule
• Study model-based design for embedded systems
• Project first stage
• Midterm-report
• Project second stage
• Final report (oral, paper, demo)
• Other activities
• Visit to companies (Dell, Saturn) NASA

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Student Research Projects

• Visual tracking of flying objects
• Blimp/Vectron saucer, tracking camera connected
  to PC
• LEGO robot navigation
• Sensor-based navigation of LEGOs, exploration
  and rescue
• Maze solving robot
• Robot learns/solves the maze, builds map,
  retraces path
• Control of smart structures
• Vibration sensing and damping using a piezo device

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Course Development for Faculty

• Participants
• 2 faculty from Tennessee Tech University (CS,EE)
• Schedule
• Bi-weekly meetings
• Discussion on a fundamental course for embedded
  systems
• Review of Content Authoring and Packaging
  Environment (CAPE)

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Course Development for Faculty

• Proposed course
• Modeling and Simulation of Embedded Systems
• Intended audience
• Advanced undergrads from EE and CS program
• Results
• Detailed course syllabus
• Course material compiled, some of it electronic
  form
• Course will be formally offered at Tennessee
  Tech next year

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Summary

• Need to encourage more minority students to
  pursue graduate education
• Embedded systems research provides opportunities
  for active experimentation
• SIPHER combines faculty and student components to
  promote embedded systems research