Science & Technology

USU DIRECT Lab Offers 'Spot-On' STEM Outreach to All Ages

Computer Science Faculty member Mario Harper fosters students' science communication skills.

By Mary-Ann Muffoletto |

USU DIRECT Lab students Daniella Lopez, center, and Braxton Geary, right, demonstrate robotic dogs to teens participating in USU's 2023 Latinos in Action Leadership Bootcamp. (Photo Credit: USU/M. Muffoletto)

It was all-hands-on-deck as student researchers from a Utah State University robotics lab performed demonstrations for dozens of teens on campus as participants in USU’s 2023 Latinos in Action Leadership Bootcamp, led by USU’s Latinx Cultural Center, June 1-2.

Undergraduates and graduate students from Department of Computer Science faculty member Mario Harper’s DIRECT (Decision Intelligence, Robotics and EleCtrified Transportation) Lab were among campus groups assisting the camp’s organizers with activities for the teen participants. Campers watched the antics of robot dogs named “Spot” and “Go,” learned about drones and heard how artificial intelligence can aid humans in diverse ways, ranging from search and rescue operations to more efficient manufacturing and more sustainable agriculture.

“After hours of sitting in front of a computer screen by yourself, it’s exciting to share your research with others,” says computer science doctoral student Huzeyfe Kocabas. “When you express what you’re doing, rather than keeping it to yourself, you realize why it’s important.”

Fellow doctoral student Christopher Allred agrees.

“When I get to talk about the algorithms I’ve been working on with the public, especially young people, I remember what got me excited about computer science in the first place,” Allred says. “I remember mentors who had faith in me when I was a novice. I hope I can show the same faith, and inspire a future generation of scholars.”

Kocabas, Allred and their fellow DIRECT Lab members are finding plenty of opportunities to share their research while honing their skills in STEM communication and outreach.

“Outreach is a top priority for Dr. Harper,” says Aggie Peck, an undergrad majoring in physics with a computer science minor. “It’s important to let children and teens know about opportunities in computer science, especially high school students who will soon make decisions about college.”

Robots, she says, are perfect outreach vehicles because they’re interactive and exciting. As lab members introduced robot dogs Spot and Go to camp participants, other USU visitors, including Summer Citizens and prospective students on a campus tour, stopped to watch.

In addition to the Latinos in Action gathering, DIRECT Lab members have, in recent months, demonstrated the lab’s robots at Science Unwrapped, school STEM fairs, USU’s ASPIRE roadway electrification research center’s open house, as well as the multi-state USU Physics Day at Lagoon Amusement Park, which welcomed thousands of Intermountain teens.

“We’re involved in outreach activities every couple of weeks,” says undergrad lab member Gabe Tonks, who demonstrated drones and robotic vehicles to Latinos in Action participants. “It takes a lot of time, but it’s a lot of fun. And it’s gratifying when you meet kids who really want to figure out how to do this.”

Peck adds that outreach allows her and fellow lab members to dispel common myths about computer science, as well as STEM education.

“Some people think you have to be super-smart to go into computer science, physics or engineering and, if you do, you’ll have no time for a social life,” she says. “But that’s not true. Computer science and other STEM disciplines are great majors for people of all abilities and backgrounds, and here in the lab we have a lot of fun hanging out together.”

Undergrad computer science major Braxton Geary admits he was one of those people who felt intimidated by computer science study.

“I thought to succeed on computer science, you’d have to have been coding since you learned to walk,” Geary says.

He says his first foray into coding was daunting.

“I was horrible at it at first, but I also wasn’t the only person in my class who had no coding experience,” he says. “With some persistence, I soon learned coding is fun, interesting and not-at-all insurmountable.”

Succeeding in STEM, says fellow lab member and high school intern Daniella Lopez, requires “passion and patience.”

“STEM doesn’t care if you’re smart or not,” says Lopez, a student at Utah’s Green Canyon High School. “You’ve got to go out and look at STEM as something that’s possible.”

Lopez, a longtime participant in USU Extension’s 4-H Cache Makers program, says stereotypes can hinder people from pursuing opportunities.

“I know, as a Latina, it can be hard to try something you don’t see people like you doing,” she told Latinos in Action participants. “But you have to step out of your comfort zone.”

Lopez, who serves as Cache County 4-H STEM Ambassador, jumped at the chance to join the USU lab after meeting Harper’s colleague Regan Zane, USU electrical engineering faculty member and director of the USU ASPIRE Lab, at a Science Unwrapped event.

“I wanted to get involved in research,” she says. “And with the added bonus of outreach, I have the opportunity to talk to kids and instill a passion for learning in others.”

Undergrad computer science major Gabe Tonks shows drones to teens participating in USU's 2023 Latinos in Action Leadership Bootcamp. (Photo Credit: USU/M. Muffoletto)

WRITER

Mary-Ann Muffoletto
Public Relations Specialist
College of Science
435-797-3517
maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu

CONTACT

Mario Harper
Assistant Professor
Computer Science
mario.harper@usu.edu


TOPICS

STEM 152stories Latinx 17stories Robotics 9stories

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