PIT-UN Grant Outcomes

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:

• Creating an interdisciplinary Society 5.0 graduate certificate consisting of four courses taught across three separate colleges on campus.
• Establishing opportunities for students and faculty to connect through fellowships, affiliations, podcasts, website creation, and conferences.
• 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.

Data Privacy and Equity Assessment Clinic ($90,000)

The goal of this project was to develop a Data Privacy & Equity Assessment Clinic. 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, the clinic resulted in a prize-winning analysis from an interdisciplinary student team. 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. 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 also included recent law graduate Jessica Cohen, law student Zachary Jacobson and Master of Social Work student Sarah Behlke.