Students learn how to solve societal problems through computer science

A computer-generated glove created by a group of postgraduate Penn State students was featured Tuesday morning during a summer camp session aimed to get local girls more familiar with computer science.

The glove, which helps the visually impaired navigate through vibration censors connected to a wearable camera, was tested by the primarily middle school-aged girls participating in the inaugural Computer Science Camp for Girls, hosted by Penn State’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

The mission, according to school Director Tom La Porta, is to help attract more women to computer science programs.

“We actively try to recruit women into our program at both the graduate and undergraduate program,” La Porta said. “Still, we need to do more to attract young women into the major before they enter college. That is why we are starting programs like this summer camp.”

According to numbers from the department, female enrollment in computer science-based programs is low.

“In the mid-to-late 1980s, the number of women in computer science was growing,” he said. “For some reason that is not the case today.”

The reason why, he said, is unknown, but he’s studied several ideas.

“Some think it is because gaming became very popular, mostly with boys, and that has driven the interest in computer science,” La Porta said. “Others find girls are gravitating more (toward) sciences for some reasons. However, computer science has great career opportunities, has strong projected growth, as far as jobs go, far into the future, and is a terrific and interesting field that should be considered by and open to women.”

Administrators from the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science said they actively try to recruit women in computer science programs supported by the school.

That also includes supporting student-run groups like the Association for Women in Computing, and student trips to conferences like the Grace Hopper Conference — an annual conference designed to mentor and connect women in computing, La Porta said.

But it also can start by hosting computer camps that attract youth to become interested in the field, La Porta said.

“Our hope is to show how interesting computer science is through this camp so the young women can consider it along with all of their other options,” he said.

Facilitated by computer science and engineering professor Vijay Narayanan and a group of graduate students, a Tuesday morning class allowed participants to help solve societal programs through computer science.

The goal was to design computers that help the visually impaired in a grocery store scenario.

Students first went through a set of computer coding routines, and then tested the device.

Brynn Bortree put on a blindfold and used the computer-generated glove to help navigate her around a computer lab at Penn State’s Westgate Building.

Her partner, fellow Park Forest Middle School student Olivia Switalski, operated the glove through a computer that would put Brynn in a position to grab items as part of their mission.

Vibrations in the glove helped Brynn determine which way to walk.

“They’re learning in real-world situations and using state of the art research data,” Narayanan said. “They’re learning with the software and experimenting with it.”

The weeklong camp, sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Expectations in Computing, also includes interaction with scientists who develop computer software that can help people in their daily lives.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Students learn how to solve societal problems through computer science."