Collaborative Grants
National Science Foundation
Equitable Pathways to Artificial Intelligence
$49,461
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Xiaohai Li — Computer Engineering Technology Department, City Tech
Ching-Song Wei — Principal Investigator, BMCC
Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the way data is analyzed to produce meaningful information and has created an unprecedented demand for trained AI technicians. The goal of this project is to develop educational and career pathways in AI through the creation of an online AI certificate program. The certificate program will provide stackable credentials and credit for prior learning, be guided by an industry advisory board, and implement national recommendations for AI education. Students will be taught using real-world projects and project-based learning. The certificate program will serve high school students, incumbent workers, and second-degree seekers and will feature enrichment activities such as industry workshops, internships, and career panels. The resulting certificate program will be the first AI certificate in the CUNY system that will prepare students to pursue careers in industry as entry-level AI technicians. Beyond its immediate objectives, the program will seek to cultivate a talent pipeline, addressing the shortage of AI technicians, diversifying the talent pool, and establishing a national model for preparing diverse students for successful AI careers. The instructional materials developed will become part of the college’s permanent course offerings. The project team will use both quantitative and qualitative measures to assess the project’s effectiveness and will use these measures to adjust the program as needed. This project will serve as a model for other academic institutions interested in developing a comprehensive program aimed to help address the shortage of well-qualified and skilled AI technicians. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy.
Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in the Delaware River Watershed Using Drones and Spatial Analysis
$150,008
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Marzi Azerderakhsh — Construction Management and Civil Engineering Technology Department
This project, a collaboration between New York City College of Technology, CUNY (City Tech) Princeton Hydro (PH), led by Institutional PI Marzi Azarderakhsh, PhD, PE, aims to predict the development of both benthic and planktonic harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Delaware River and in various water bodies discharging into the river. The study will employ remote sensing techniques, multi-spectral and hyperspectral drone technology, and on-the-water monitoring to develop predictive algorithms for HAB formation and to potentially identify specific HAB types for management and habitat restoration. Two surveys will be conducted in 2025 (spring/late summer) and again in 2026 (spring/late summer) to build a comprehensive database that reflects seasonal and hydrologic variations within the watershed. City Tech serving as a subawardee to PH, will oversee the remote sensing component and will integrate and analyze data collected from drones and on-the-water sampling, including contributions from both professional and volunteer monitoring. This analysis will determine whether predictive models can be developed to identify planktonic and/or benthic cyanobacteria HABs in the river and in connected water bodies. The City Tech team will perform data analysis on remote sensing observations from drones and satellites, collaborating with PH to link these data with the drone and on-the-water sampling.
Modeling and Simulation Eco-System for Mobility Design in Multi-Domain Operations
$50,000
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David Smith- Entertainment Technology Department
This program will focus on the technological areas of Power and Mobility, and Autonomous Systems. The overarching objective is to develop and demonstrate a Digital Engineering (DE)-based Ecosystem (DE Ecosystem) with a Simulator of Human-Machine Integrated Formations (S-HMIF). This ecosystem will be a blended digital/hardware environment leveraging OpenXR for seamless interoperability across diverse devices and platforms. The DE Ecosystem will facilitate the design, analysis, and validation of mobility solutions for both crewed ground vehicles (CGVs) and uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), as well as the autonomy of UGVs and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating within HMIFs in challenging environments.
Survey of Climate and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems (SCALE): EPF LIF re: AsRA
$169,651
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Marzi Azerderakhsh — Construction Management and Civil Engineering Technology Department
Dr. Marzi Azarderakhsh and her team at City Tech will lead the remote sensing component of the Survey of Climate and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems (SCALE) project. Building upon the pilot phase results, Year 1 activities will extend satellite-based lake temperature analyses to additional Adirondack lakes, initiate ice-cover modelling and analyses using remote sensing, and continue exploratory estimation of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations for selected lakes.
Computer Science through Engineering Design in New York (CSED- NY)
$109,304
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Euisuk Sung — Career Teacher Technology Education
This Developing and Testing Innovations project aims to serve the national Interest by broadening capacity and participation in secondary school Computer Science (CS) education across New York State. There is presently a severe shortage of CS teachers that will be exacerbated as more schools embrace CS education. To help mitigate the teacher shortage, this project will implement a model to prepare middle school and high school Technology and Engineering (T&E) teachers in diverse New York State communities to teach CS courses. The implementation model is transferable nationally and this population of teachers can add significantly to the CS delivery system. Four complementary and unifying project components comprise a systems approach to broadening CS education capacity and participation. They are: component 1, implementing a statewide secondary school engineering design-based CS curricular continuum for T&E education with an aligned teacher professional development (PD) program; component 2, recruiting, engaging, and retaining diverse students by situating learning in the context of authentic, culturally relevant engineering design challenges; component 3, establishing a pathway to dual T&E/CS state certification for teachers; and component 4, fostering family engagement in CS education.