UCF is launching two new summer Research Experiences for Undergraduate programs and continuing a third, thanks to new funding from the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n
The programs are designed to encourage select students from around the country to pursue graduate studies and eventually become leaders in their chosen areas of expertise.<\/p>\n
Getting REUs is difficult because there is a lot of nationwide competition, but UCF\u2019s ability to land three programs \u2013 including one that has been renewed for the 29th consecutive year \u2013 is a testament to the quality of the university\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
The renewed program is in computer vision and is the longest-running REU in the nation.<\/p>\n
Computer vision seeks to understand images and high-dimensional data to produce numerical data and symbolic information that can help make informed decisions. Applications vary from emergency management to detecting potentially dangerous behavior among crowds.<\/p>\n
Since UCF became involved in 1987 with the computer-vision REU, 270 undergraduate students from more than 65 universities around the country have participated.<\/p>\n
Undergraduates who have participated in this program have co-authored 79 research papers. Half have gone on to graduate schools, fifteen have written Honors in the Major theses, and several are now faculty members at different universities.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents get to have a close relationship with their mentors and have a chance to understand the lifelong career path that leads to becoming a researcher and professor,\u201d said Niels Lobo, an associate professor in computer science who assists with the summer program. \u201cThe REU is a small microcosm of the whole process and allows them to experience something similar.\u201d The program is led by Mubarak Shah, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Computer Science.<\/p>\n
The other two REUs are new to the university this year and are in areas that are exploding in terms of advances in the field.<\/p>\n
Citizen Science GIS is a program that will give students the opportunity to design research questions with partner organizations in Orlando and Belize. \u201cStudents will be collecting data and learning how to use GIS [geographic information systems] and mapping software to apply it to solving real-world problems related to land-use planning, marine debris and disaster issues along the coast of Belize,\u201d said Timothy L. Hawthorne, an assistant professor of GIS in the Department of Sociology, who is principal investigator on the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is unique with our REU is that we build a research network with students. It\u2019s not just a seven-week program here in Orlando or Belize,\u201d Hawthorne said. \u201cWhat we do in this three-year program is help students build a large research support network that can open the doors to bigger and better opportunities down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCF\u2019s Department of Sociology and the new GIS Cluster Initiative is providing support for the project that drew 365 applicants from all over the country for eight openings. Sociology major Amanda Ashby was the only UCF student selected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always found human interactions and relationships incredibly interesting,\u201d Ashby said. \u201cAfter taking Dr. Hawthorne\u2019s Introduction to GIS class last year, I learned that I could incorporate a growing industry into my work in sociology. When I found out about the Belize REU I knew that I needed to apply because, if I were chosen, my life would change substantially.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Internet of Things is UCF\u2019s third REU. Ten undergraduates from around the nation will engage in an intensive 10-week summer experience.<\/p>\n
Students will learn about the emerging field of Internet of Things, a network of physical objects such as phones, vehicles, buildings and other devices that are embedded with electronics, sensors, software and network connectivity that enables them to collect and exchange data.<\/p>\n