Research experiences for undergraduates: autonomic computing research at FIU

Abstract

According to Computing Research Association, during each year between 2003 and 2007, fewer than 3% of the US's Ph.D.s graduates in computer science and computer engineering were Hispanic or African American and fewer than 20% were women. Such an under-representation precludes the benefits of diversity in computer sciences research and industry and consequently compromises the competitiveness of the US economy. It is therefore imperative that undergraduate institutions introduce students from these groups to research at an early stage of their academic careers and to provide them with the tools necessary for success in graduate school. The School of Computing and Information Sciences (SCIS) at Florida International University (FIU) has been working to strengthen the pipeline of underrepresented students to graduate work in computer science by hosting an NSF sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site for the past three years. Our REU site has hosted 30 undergraduate students, 23 of them were underrepresented including 8 females, 16 Hispanics, and 4 African Americans, who published 13 technical papers. Six of the ten students who have already graduated, have started their graduate studies.