TECH HUB EVENTS

AI Series Kick-off

Come learn about and discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on academia and beyond. Facilitated by PhD student Cameron LaMack, the sessions will provide faculty and students an opportunity to ask questions, share concerns and provide input on topics for further exploration this spring. There are two opportunities to participate! Please plan to join us on one of the dates below and be sure to register in advance! Both sessions will take place in Room 103 of Parker Hannifin Hall and will include lunch.

Tuesday, October 24

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Register here by 10/19

Tuesday, November 16

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Register here by 11/13

PIT EVENTS

Upcoming Conference

Registration is open for the upcoming PIT-UN (Public Interest Technology University Network) Convening October 12-13, at Boston University. The convening will bring together public interest technology faculty from across the U.S. Below are highlights of what CSU faculty will be presenting on:

• Dr. Nick Zingale, a TECH Hub co-director, will participate on a panel about partnering with government. The session will focus on how to leverage public resources to create a just and equitable technological society.
• Dr. Patricia Stoddard-Dare, a TECH Hub co-director, will moderate a gathering of the Midwest regional workgroup.

Career Fair

A Public Interest Technology Career Fair will take place on October 25 at CSU and on October 26 at Case Western Reserve University. Save the dates and keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks.

STUDENT ACCOLADES

Congrats to the MetroLab Student Cup Winners!

Law student Sharilyn Clark and recent graduate Katrice Williams brought home the winning prize in the MetroLab Network 2023 Student Cup Competition held in Portland this summer. The competition was established in 2020 to recognize, amplify and support impactful collaborations between students and city governments.

Katrice and Sharilyn represented CSU’s interdisciplinary team, which included recent law graduate Jessica Cohen, law student Zachary Jacobson and Master of Social Work student Sarah Behlke. They presented the analysis they developed for the city of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission examining data privacy and equity risks in the use of an app-based parking payment system. 

The team’s project is the outgrowth of their participation in the Data Privacy & Equity Assessment Clinic, supported by the CSU TECH Hub, along with the IoT Collaborative, and a $90,000 research grant from PIT-UN. The clinic was co-taught by Brian Ray, J.D., professor of law and Dr. Patricia Stoddard-Dare, professor of social work, with Dr. Chansu Yu, professor of electrical engineering and computer science—all co-directors of the TECH Hub—and several national experts.

PIT-UN GRANT OUTCOMES

Society 5.0 and Community-led Public Interest Technology

Speaking of PIT-UN grant outcomes, below are updates on two additional PIT-UN Challenge Grants.

Society 5.0 (Advanced Technology in Society and the Public Interest) ($45,000)

The primary goal for this project involved creating an initiative on campus to confront human and societal issues arising from advancing technologies. It focused on transdisciplinary approaches for discussing and learning about the Human, Ethical, Legal, Phenomenological, Psychological, and Societal (HELPPS) impacts of advanced technologies. Three primary outcomes arose from the effort:

1. Creating an interdisciplinary Society 5.0 graduate certificate consisting of four courses taught across three separate colleges on campus.
2. Establishing opportunities for students and faculty to connect through fellowships, affiliations, podcasts, website creation, and conferences.
3. Leveraging the funds to secure larger external grants, including an NSF NRT $2 million grant in collaboration with the CSU Human-Machine Systems (CHMS) and a $10 million Office of Naval Research grant in collaboration with the Case Western Reserve University Human Fusions Institute (HFI) and UCLA Robotics Lab.

Community-led Public Interest Technology ($90,000)

This project resulted in the creation of an Internet of Things Community Advisory Board (ICAB). ICAB was envisioned to become a mechanism for sustained, meaningful relationships, collaboration and reciprocal problem-solving between the underresourced Hough neighborhood and CSU. The committed ICAB members have diverse backgrounds and represent an important segment of the community with a stake in PIT. The primary pilot project led by ICAB was the TechBox Program, a six-week experience for middle and high school students from Hough. TechBox exposed students to a variety of different state-of-the-art technologies in the PIT field (drones, coding, smart sensors and manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence/ChatGPT, and digital arts). 

More than 20 students 14+ years of age also signed up for Digital Navigator summer employment training to learn to work with seniors in their communities and assist them with computer literacy and digital competency. In addition, the drones acquired for the TechBox program were used for a community-based program over the summer called “Hough Drones.” Professional drone photographers and drone racers were on-site to teach Hough community members about drones and how to fly them as well as related job fields. The value of the TechBox program was captured by a News Channel 5 segment in the spring.

AROUND CAMPUS

The Beth E. Mooney Center for Transformative Leadership Launches

October 2 marks the official launch of The Beth E. Mooney Center for Transformative Leadership at CSU. Recall that KeyBank made a generous donation to establish the Center at CSU upon Beth Mooney’s retirement as its chairman and CEO in 2021. Through core curriculum, courses, credentials & degrees, experiential learning, customized continuing education, and research & scholarship, the Center will support CSU’s community of students and lifelong learners in becoming leaders who transform the economic, civic and cultural life of Northeast Ohio.

We see many synergies between the campus-wide Center and the TECH Hub, including our emphasis on interdisciplinary education and research and preparing students to lead in a tech-based world. We expect there to be joint programming with the Center in the near future.

Shilpa Kedar, who previously served as executive director of the TECH Hub, is the Center’s inaugural executive director. We looking forward to continuing to work with her in this new capacity.