Gloria Melara, Computer Science – AIMS^2

CSUN Campus Navigation Mobile Prototype

Noting that visually impaired students found it difficult to navigate between buildings when they were new to CSUN, AIMS2 students proposed to create a mobile app to enable these students to get around more independently. So last summer, a team of AIMS2 students, under the mentorship of Gloria Melara, designed and implemented the CSUN Campus Navigation app. Using GPS, the app directs users by voice to wherever they need to go on campus. After initial tests of the app, the target users were happy to have a tool that would enable them to be more independent. They suggested some additional vital features, however, so another team of AIMS2 students is continuing to work on the app during the academic year.

HSI Web Portal

Under the mentorship of Gloria Melara, AIMS2 students have created and maintained a website for the U.S. Department of Education to support the HSI-STEM program. Students have worked on the project for two summers, as well as during the academic year. The web portal was initiated by one of the HSI-STEM principal investigators, who wanted a mechanism for the PIs for the different projects to share best practices. CECS dean S. K. Ramesh offered to host the site at CSUN, and it proved an ideal project for AIMS2 students in computer science. In addition to serving as a repository for proposals and best practices, the site includes searching capabilities and real-time communication among the grantees, who are responsible for populating the site with content. The project has been going on for a couple of years, so there has been turnover as students have graduated. “It’s like a normal project in industry,” Melara says. “Some professionals leave, and others join it. The project documentation has been good, and the students have used it to continue on from the previous semester.”