NSF awards UT $1.8 million grant to engage high school students with cybersecurity

September 20, 2017 | News, Research, UToday, Engineering
By Christine Billau



The University of Toledo will teach more than 2,000 local high school students and teachers how to use mathematics and computational thinking to solve cybersecurity problems in smart vehicles as part of a new $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

The three-year federal grant for the INITIATE program, which is officially titled Understanding How Integrated Computational Thinking, Engineering Design, and Mathematics Can Help Students Solve Scientific and Technical Problems in Career Technical Education, funds the partnership between UT, NSF and Toledo Public Schools.

Oluoch

At the end of each year, students compete in a “modern pinewood derby” where each team races a smart vehicle through an obstacle course without another team hacking the vehicle to crash or disable it.

“This grant is a great step toward preparing a workforce in the United States that focuses on cybersecurity and smart vehicle technology,” said Dr. Jared Oluoch, UT assistant professor of computer science and engineering technology, and principal investigator of the project. “The concept of smart vehicles is appealing to high school students because it is a new, intriguing idea. Our goal is to improve algebra and geometry standards among the students and prepare them to pursue STEM disciplines in college.”

The program engages local high school students in how to design secure technologies and helps science teachers in grades nine through 12 integrate computational thinking into their curriculum. The project also investigates whether focusing on a specific problem is an effective way to make mathematics more engaging and relevant to students.

The program includes a two-week summer institute for 12 teachers and ongoing academic year meetings designed to assist those teachers in implementing the project into their classrooms with 2,217 students.

Oluoch oversaw the development of the INITIATE program along with Dr. Charlene Czerniak, professor emeritus of science education and research professor in the UT College of Engineering, and Dr. Ahmad Javaid, assistant professor of computer science in the UT College of Engineering.

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