Undergraduate Research with R. Weiss

Rigorous quantitative and qualitative research is an important component of academic learning in Scientific Inquiry. Research opportunities allow science students to work on specific projects associated with faculty members’ expertise. Students typically begin by working in an apprenticeship model with faculty or laboratory staff and gradually take on more independent projects within the context of the specific research program as they gain experience. Students can develop vital skills in research design, data acquisition and interpretation, modeling and theoretical analysis, written and oral communication, collaboration and critical thinking. These are valuable skills for students pursuing a graduate degree or entering the job market.

Richard Weiss (computer science, mathematics) has several ongoing projects in computer vision, robotics, and security. There are several opportunities for students to develop cybersecurity games for teaching network-security concepts and skills within a project called EDURange. In robotics, he is looking for students to develop laboratory exercises for several different mobile robotic platforms, including Scribbler, LEGO NXT, and iRobot Create. This would also involve writing tools for image processing and computer vision using sequences of still images, video streams, and 2.5-D images from the Kinect. In addition, he is open to working with students who have their own ideas for projects in these and related areas, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and analysis of processor performance.