The trouble with introductory science and engineering courses is that students often don’t see how what they are learning is relevant to their lives. The proposed project addresses this by leveraging the team’s past efforts to develop an innovative web-based game situated within an online science learning community. This system, Enviropedia, will emphasize the connections between science and society by focusing on a simple decision that people make every day: what beverage containers to use. For this effort, Enviropedia will be developed and pilot tested in two freshman seminar courses at Stony Brook, demonstrating applicability to other campuses.

Awarded Grant: $58,000 Principal Investigator: Steven M. Gallo, University at Buffalo The storage and analysis of large datasets culled from social media such as Facebook and Twitter can easily grow to a size that is beyond the capability of commonly used software tools to analyze within an acceptable amount of time. Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) typically do not have the computing and networking infrastructure or support personnel needed to allow students to create, manipulate, and analyze large multi-terabyte datasets. The SUNY Research Centers, therefore, have an active role to play in supporting data-intensive computing education and analysis at SUNY’s PUIs. In order to provide the tools necessary to expose students to state-of-the-art data-intensive computing and analysis techniques, the Center for Computational Research (CCR) at the University at Buffalo (UB) and SUNY Oneonta will partner to pilot the establishment of a collaborative virtual community, focusing initially on data-intensive computing education in the social sciences. Co-PI’s and Key Partners: Matthew D. Jones, Ph.D. Associate Director, Center for Computational Research – University at Buffalo Cynthia D. Cornelius, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Center for Computational Research – University at Buffalo Jeanette M. Sperhac, Scientific Programmer, Center for Computational Research – University at Buffalo Brian M. Lowe, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology – SUNY Oneonta Gregory Fulkerson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology – SUNY Oneonta William Wilkerson, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Political Science – SUNY Oneonta Brett Heindl, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Political Science – SUNY Oneonta Achim Koeddermann, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Sciences – SUNY Oneonta James Greenberg, Director, Teaching, Learning and Technology Center (TLTC) – SUNY Oneonta Reports and Resources: Project website SUNY Wizard 2014 talk on VIDIA project VIDIA general overview for SUNY Brockport SUNY Learning Tuesdays Mid-project report Project outcomes report Project outcomes report 2.0 Creative Commons License:

Awarded Grant: $52,500 Principal Investigator: Monica Bugallo, Stony Brook University This project broadens the scope of our previously successful IITG pilot program by expanding the offered research and educational activities, by improving the cyber-infrastructure that makes them possible everywhere, at any time and to everyone, and by implementing a research component to assess the effectiveness and impact of the proposed initiatives. Our ultimate goal is to engage students in the passion, challenge and opportunity of exploring the science of detection of cosmic rays and analysis of data related to them, through innovative technology involving building and operation of cyber-tools in the form of hardware devices and software applications. The nature of the project is multidisciplinary and embraces participants from different SUNY Stony Brook departments including Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, and Science Education. We focus on underrepresented students through our collaboration with the Women In Science and Engineering program and the Center of Science and Mathematics Education, and we seek for expansion of the activities by involving collaborators from SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Albany. Reports and Resources: Project website Mid-project report Project outcomes report Project outcomes report 2.0 Creative Commons License: