Communications of the ACM
NSF Extends Program to Draw African Americans to Careers in Robotics, Computer Science
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is extending its support of the Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact (ARTSI) Alliance, a program designed to encourage African Americans to pursue careers in robotics and computer science.
The ARTSI Alliance, formed in 2007, includes nine major research universities and 19 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which are developing additional curricula and outreach activities and continuing a summer research program for undergraduates. In three years the alliance has served more than 300 undergraduates, established robotics courses and laboratories, delivered more than 60 robots to HBCUs, funded 50 summer internships for HBCU students to work in labs at major universities, held three faculty summer workshops, and organized annual ARTSI student research conferences. ARTSI also has introduced robotics-based outreach activities targeted at middle and high school students.
"The U.S. government is emphasizing the importance of STEM education—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—for maintaining competitiveness in a high-tech world," says Carnegie Mellon University professor David S. Touretzky. "Our country must draw upon its entire talent pool to develop the next generation of researchers and educators."
From Carnegie Mellon University
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