CISE-MSI: RCBP-RF: S&CC: Building a Smart Mobility Network for the San Antonio Transit to Improve Transit Service and Social Impact (SmartSAT), Award # 2131193 

SmartSAT project develops a customizable secure mobile app for SA public transit that provides users with enhanced, accurate information about transit service and enables data collection to evaluate the impact of poverty, race, and ethnicity on the experience of transit users. The resulting SmartSAT project will (1) provide riders real-time information of arrival times and bus capacity with limited seats available, (2) build an in feedback on-trip experiences, (3) utilize intelligent technology and conduct data-driven decision making when analyzing data, (4) provide reliable and accessible transit with convenient and equal access to get places, and (5) integrate SA community stakeholders into a future smart and connected city in the long run. Researchers and students from diverse disciplines (sociology, computer science, cyber security, & information science) work collaboratively to achieve project success. The outcomes of this project will primarily benefit low-income SA residents, especially the large Hispanic population. SmartSAT anticipates to ultimately improve SA mobile network infrastructure and to connect more workers to jobs and workforce training, more students to educational opportunities, and more residents to social and leisure activities. 

Recruiting and Retaining Students into Computing, Award # 1832433 

This project (RETAIN) uses a multipronged approach to inspire, increase, educate and retain a large, underrepresented pool to pursue degrees for careers in computing and cyber security, a discipline in which there is an acute national demand of professionals. The project RETAIN targets Hispanic students in rural and underrepresented areas who will be taught cyber security beginning with foundation courses, to increase their awareness and demand for this field. It builds a pipeline for underrepresented students who have social, economic, and education needs in computing and cyber security, by partnering with a rural community college (Laredo), an urban community college (San Antonio) and its own students. Building upon strong, collaborative relationships formed between the institutions will contribute to project effectiveness.