Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program (GAANN)
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Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program (GAANN) |
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The WPI Computer Science (CS) Department has an internationally recognized faculty whose research supports an innovative and exciting graduate program. With support from the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Program, we intend to provide five fellowships to students of superior ability with demonstrated financial need to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science. These awards, which cover tuition, a stipend of up to $30K per year (based on financial need), and some travel funds, are renewable for up to three years.
Starting with the 2006-2007 academic year, this grant aims to:
We have identified three areas of interest for our focus; excellent candidates in all areas of Computer Science should apply.
Learning Sciences
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The National Research Council’s recent report,
How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice, describes the
Learning Sciences as
an area of great national need. The
Learning Sciences include cognitive science, machine learning, and human learning (i.e., education). Through a deeper understanding of the cognitive
psychology of human learning in particular domains
(e.g., mathematics or physics), the learning sciences
attempt to provide answers to fundamental research questions with enormous
practical value in areas such as education and
educational software.
To date, the Assistments system supports the education of thousands of students in the Worcester Public Schools. Professors Ruiz and Heffernan have collaborated to use data mining techniques to search for the best fitting fine-grained cognitive models that predict student learning. Professor Brown, whose research area is artificial intelligence, has collaborated with Professor Heffernan in supervising students building intelligent tutoring systems.
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Visual Analytics
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Visual analytics is the science of analytical reasoning made possible by
interactive visual interfaces. It has been identified
as a critical technology by the Department of Homeland
Security, as witnessed by the establishment of the
National Visualization and Analytics Center.
The XmdvTool has been applied to a wide range of application areas, some of which are highlighted in our Case Studies. These domains include remote sensing, financial, geochemical, census, and simulation data. Professors Ward, Rundensteiner, and Ruiz have combined their expertise in information visualization, data management, and knowledge discovery to develop technology to support the interactive exploration of large, complex data and information repositories in many disciplines, including bioinformatics, earth and space science, and, most recently, homeland security.
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Access Control
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The function of access control is to specify and regulate
how principals (people, processes, or machines) may use resources in a system.
Key goals are to ensure confidentiality and integrity
of information and to guard against erroneous or malicious misuse of the system.
As society becomes increasingly dependent on computer networks, issues of access
control become more broadly relevant, and the complex and subtle interactions
among principals pose research challenges at many levels, from hardware
mechanisms controlling operating systems to sophisticated logical theories
expressing relationships among the roles in a commercial or government
organization.
Professors Dougherty and Fisler, in collaboration with colleagues at Brown University, are working on aspects of policy design and the interaction between policies and the applications they govern, using methods from programming language theory and formal verification. The emphasis is on querying and analyzing policies; for example one focus of investigation is “change impact analysis”, the development of tools for understanding the (sometimes unintended) consequences when changes are made to an existing policy.
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How To Apply
These awards are restricted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science who plan a career in research or education. The awards, which cover tuition, a stipend of up to $30K per year (based on financial need), and some travel funds, are renewable for up to three years. Renewal of a fellowship is based on evaluation of academic and research performance. Continued funding beyond the Fellowship, if needed, will be provided in the form of a research or teaching assistantship.
Applicants should have a strong background in one or more of the three areas shown above. Inquiries and applications can be sent to the address below.
Applicants should complete our application form and include a letter of intent, a resume, and a description of any coursework or research completed in the three areas shown above. Contact:
Dr. Matthew Ward |
GAANN application form |
