Google Research Awards: Summer 2013

Posted by Maggie Johnson, Director of Education & University Relations

Another round of the Google Research Awards is complete. This is our biannual open call for proposals on computer science-related topics including machine learning and structured data, policy, human computer interaction, and geo/maps. Our grants cover tuition for a graduate student and provide both faculty and students the opportunity to work directly with Google scientists and engineers.

This round, we received 550 proposals from 50 countries. After expert reviews and committee discussions, we decided to fund 105 projects. The subject areas that received the highest level of support were human-computer interaction, systems and machine learning. In addition, 19% of the funding was awarded to universities outside the U.S.

We noticed some new areas emerging in this round of proposals. In particular, an increase of interest in neural networks, accessibility-related projects, and some innovative ideas in robotics. One project features the use of Android-based multi-robot systems which are significantly more complex than single robot systems. Faculty researchers are looking to explore novel uses of Google Glass such as an indoor navigation system for blind users, and how Glass can facilitate social interactions.

Congratulations to the well-deserving recipients of this round’s awards. If you are interested in applying for the next round (deadline is October 15), please visit our website for more information.

Computer Science Teaching Fellows Starting Up in Charleston, SC

Posted by Cameron Fadjo, Program Lead, Computer Science Teaching Fellows

Google recently started up an exciting new program to ignite interest in computer science (CS) for K12 kids. Located in our South Carolina data center, the Computer Science Teaching Fellows is a two-year post graduate fellowship for new STEM teachers and CS graduates. The goal is to bring computer science and computational thinking to all children, especially underrepresented minorities and girls, and close the gap between the ever-increasing demand in CS and the inadequate supply. We hope to learn what really works and scale those best practices regionally and then nationally.

The supply of CS majors in the pipeline has been a concern for many years. In 2007, the Computer Science education community was alarmed by the lack of CS majors and enrollments in US colleges and universities.

Source: 2009-2010 CRA Taulbee Survey (http://www.cra.org/resources/)

This prompted the development of several programs and activities to start raising awareness about the demand and opportunities for computer scientists, and to spark the interest of K12 students in CS. For example, the NSF funded curriculum and professional development around the new CS Principles Advanced Placement course. The CSTA published standards for K12 CS and a report on the limited extent to which schools, districts and states provide CS instruction to their students. CS advocacy groups, Computing in the Core and Code.org have played an instrumental role in adding provisions to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary School Act to support CS education. More generally, we have seen innovations in online learning with MOOCs, machine learning to provide personalized learning experiences, and platforms like Khan Academy that allow flipped classrooms.

All of these activities represent a convergence in the CS education space, where existing programs are ready for scale, and technological advancements can support that scale in innovative ways. Our Teaching Fellows will be testing after school programs, classroom curriculum and online CS programs to determine what works and why. They’ll start in the local Charleston area and then spread the best programs and curriculum to South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina (where we also have large data centers). They are currently preparing programs for the fall semester.

We are very excited about the convergence we are seeing in CS education and the potential to bring many more kids into a field that offers not only great career opportunities but also a shot at really making a difference in the world. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of our Teaching Fellows.