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We are excited to introduce the first cohort of S-STEM Scholars at the ����ý College of Engineering and Computer Science, who have been selected to participate in a new program being funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The accelerated five-year program is designed to enable high-achieving, low-income college students to complete their bachelor’s degree in science and master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence, with options in autonomous systems and machine learning. By increasing the number of high-achieving, low-income students who have the skills to become the new generation of experts in AI, this project addresses the national need for growing a more diverse STEM research population.

The project team is spearheaded by Dr.��Dimitris A. Pados , principal investigator, professor in the��Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, the Charles E. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Engineering, fellow of ����ý’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems ( I-SENSE ), and director of the��Center for Connected Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence.�� The co-PI team includes Dr. Stella Batalama , dean of the ����ý College of Engineering and Computer Science; Dr. Javad Hashemi , associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering; and Dr. Nancy R. Romance, professor of science education and director of ����ý’s STEM Collaborative. Senior personnel include Dr.��Xingquan (Hill) Zhu , professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and director of the College’s Bidtellect Laboratory .��

“Students in our new program will be organized in cohorts to promote a goal-oriented and supportive environment that results in persistence to complete a bachelor’s degree in science and pursue a graduate degree in artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Pados. “This multi-year experience will broaden their awareness of the many avenues available for support and provide a rich opportunity to work with and learn from a number of mentors comprised of graduate students and faculty throughout our college with expertise in various fields.”

Click on the videos below to meet our talented S-STEM Scholars and hear about their unique backgrounds and future aspirations.