University Alliance To Increase Robotics Research at Historically Black Colleges an Universities
Carnegie Mellon University and six other research universities have joined forces with eight historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in a collaborative project to promote robotics and computer science education for African-American students. The Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact (ARTSI) Alliance grew out of a previous collaboration between Andrew Williams, associate professor of computer and information science at Spelman College in Atlanta and David Touretzky, research professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, which established robotics education labs at Spelman and three other HBCUs.

Funded by a three-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, ARTSI will develop outreach programs to encourage African-American students at both the K-12 and college levels to pursue careers in computer science and robotics and will provide mentoring programs for undergraduates. The alliance, with Williams as principal investigator and Touretzky as director of robotics education, also will provide professional development activities for HBCU faculty teaching computer science and robotics courses.

African-Americans now account for just 4.8 percent of almost two million U.S. computer and information scientists, a job category that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects will be among the fastest growing occupations over the next decade. Touretzky said ARTSI activities will vary from institution to institution, depending on the need of each. “Some of these schools are getting their first research-quality robots,” he said, adding that those institutions will need to develop basic curricula. Spelman and three other schools, by contrast, already have established robotic programs based on Tekkotsu (Tekkotsu.org), a robot programming system developed in Touretzky’s lab and distributed for free by Carnegie Mellon.

Carnegie Mellon will host a faculty development workshop this summer in Pittsburgh. Carnegie Mellon faculty participating in ARTSI include Illah Nourbakhsh, an associate professor of robotics with special expertise in educational robots and community outreach, and Sara Kiesler, a professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute who will be responsible for the alliance’s evaluation activities.

In addition to Spelman, the participating HBCUs are Hampton University, Morgan State University, Florida A&M University, Norfolk State University, Winston-Salem State University, the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and the University of the District of Columbia. Curricula, research internships and mentoring opportunities will be made available by Carnegie Mellon and other alliance members, including the University of Pittsburgh, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Brown University, Duke University, the University of Alabama and the University of Washington. Corporate partners include Seagate Technology, Microsoft, Apple, iRobot and Juxtopia.
Activities will include:
- Academic-year student research activities at HBCUs;
- Summer research internships for HBCU students in the labs of university faculty;
- An annual student research conference and workshop;
- Local outreach at middle schools and high schools serving minority populations in each HBCU’s community;
- National outreach through an ARTSI Web portal, currently under development (an interim Web site can be viewed now at http://ARTSIAlliance.org);
- “Viral marketing” through student-produced robotics videos on YouTube that showcase the achievements of ARTSI-affiliated students and faculty.

The ARTSI Alliance will hold its official kickoff event during a Martin Luther King celebration Jan. 14 at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va. About Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see http://www.cmu.edu.

About Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see http://www.cmu.edu.


The Department of Textiles and Apparel (TXA) at Cornell University has joined the prestigious National Textile Center Consortium (NTC).
a group of universities focused on research to sharpen the global competitiveness of the domestic textile and apparel industry. The program now brings together the combined knowledge and expertise of nine of the nation's leading textile research universities. Academic research taking place under the direction of the NTC addresses all key aspects of the textile industry, from fiber production to marketing. In addition to research, education and partnership, the NTC also deals with concerns related to work-force training and job creation.

"It's critically important that we are now a member of the consortium because it allows us to compete for the only peer-reviewed federal funding available for research in apparel and textiles. This gives us more opportunities to conduct research of economic value to New York state's apparel industry," says Ann Lemley, chair and professor of TXA. "Becoming a member of the consortium is not only recognition of the importance of the fiber, textile and apparel industry in New York state but also a reflection of the quality of Cornell's research."

Cornell won three awards earlier this year at the 10th annual National Textile Center Research Forum in Charlotte, N.C., including the "best of show" poster for the NTC-supported body-scan project conducted by Cornell researchers Susan Ashdown and Suzanne Loker, in conjunction with faculty at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The apparel experts use a state-of-the-art body scanner to take 3-D pictures of volunteers with the goals of developing a mathematical process to improve sizing systems, developing virtual try-on systems and creating custom-fitted garments. Other awards went to other Cornell professors of textiles and apparel: C.C. Chu for his plan to build a semitextile scaffold, made from new biodegradable hydrogels he invented, for engineering new tissues and organs for human body repair; and Kay Obendorf for her work on improving personal protective equipment and clothing for pesticide applicators. Anil Netravali, also a Cornell professor of textiles and apparel, presented his work on biodegradable composites made from cellulose fabrics and soy protein resin for use in products ranging from cars to computers, too.

"The NTC is critically important for the support of basic research and development efforts of value to the fiber, textile and apparel sector," says Patsy Brannon, dean of Cornell's College of Human Ecology. She notes her gratitude to legislative support from New York state's congressional team, including Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY, 26th Dist.) and José Serrano (D-NY, 16th Dist.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

Says Brannon: "The global pressure on the textiles and apparel industry in the United States is profound. New York state has the second-largest apparel industry in the United States, and its competitiveness requires innovative and effective technology development through basic research and implementation. Our work through the National Textile Center will provide research and outreach education to enhance the competitiveness of our apparel industry."
Other NTC members include Auburn University, Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth College, Philadelphia University and the University of California-Davis.

 

Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc.
CRC Environmental Management Fellowship
The CRC Environmental Management Fellowship is a three-year program in which participants work primarily as the administrative support for a variety of subcommittees and workgroups of the Chesapeake Bay Program in Annapolis, MD. During this three-year appointment, Fellows have the opportunity to learn about and take part in the shaping of environmental policy. They are also encouraged to expand on their experiences within the field by engaging in a variety of professional development opportunities, from workshops and conferences to independent projects. The CRC Environmental Management Fellowship Program provides professional experiences that will open doors for Fellows and act as a springboard into their future environmental careers.

The Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc. (CRC) is a non-profit corporation chartered by the State of Maryland. It is an association of six institutions, each with a long-standing involvement in research on problems affecting the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.


Founding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Celebrated
Online collection includes more than 1,000 scanned items from HBCU institutions
The first digital collection of documents and materials chronicling the founding of America’s historically black colleges and universities is now available online at contentdm.auctr.edu. “A Digital Collection Celebrating the Founding of the Historically Black College and University” includes more than 1,000 scanned photographs, manuscripts, letters and publications from 10 institutions designated as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

The project, which was funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, represents the first collaborative effort by HBCU libraries to make a historical collection digitally available. The online collection, which is hosted by the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, is the product of a partnership between the HBCU Library Alliance, HBCU institutions, the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) and Cornell University. The contents of the collection date back to the early 1800s and include campus charters, student yearbooks, early campus architectural drawings, and a rich assortment of photographs featuring first presidents, graduating classes, famous alumni and churches, which often served as the first classrooms at several of these institutions.

“This is an excellent resource for scholars and others interested in understanding the importance of institutions of higher learning founded by African-Americans. It offers direct access to original documents and images chronicling the story of these institutions, which are usually only available to researchers by travel to the institutions themselves,” said Dorothy Autrey, chair of the history and political science department at Alabama State University.

“The HBCU digital library collection opens the door to an area of the African-American experience, which can now receive the study and attention it deserves — the amazing contributions of historically black colleges and universities in the general struggle of a people for freedom and equality.” The online collection features materials from Alabama State University, Atlanta University Center, Bennett College for Women, Fisk University, Grambling State University, Hampton University, Southern University, Tuskegee University, Tennessee State University and Virginia State University. To view materials from the collection, go to contentdm.auctr.edu. For more information about the
partnership and the HBCU Library Alliance digital library initiative, visit http://hbculibraries.org/html/programs.html.

About HBCU Library Alliance
The HBCU Library Alliance is a consortium that supports the collaboration of institutions dedicated to providing resources designed to strengthen the libraries of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their constituents. The purpose of the HBCU Alliance is to ensure the excellence in HBCU Libraries and the development, coordination, and promotion of programs and activities to enhance member libraries.