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Researchers at RRL believe that it is critically important that research results in the field of autonomous intelligent
systems are widely shared in order to facilitate their expansion and application.
For example, RRL researchers organized a Distinguished lecture series sponsored by NSF-EPSCOR program in
Robotics and Artificial intelligence.
Two of the Lab's most resent efforts to foster interests in robotics include the "ACM/RRL workshop on Robotic
applications for individuals with Motor Disabilities" and the "career-Oriented Research workshops in Computer Science for
Undergraduate students".
While it is certain that it will take some time before robotics technology
becomes prevalent enough to be used at a consumer level, researchers
at RRL are working to prepare for the future in order to
be ready to implement solutions when they become feasible.
RRL researchers have also been involved in a effort to encourage beginning undergraduate students from
Southern University and Louisiana State University to pursue careers in the field of Computer Science. This project,
called "Career-Oriented Research workshops in Computer Science for Undergraduate Students" included direct interaction
with RRL's research faculty and extensive use of RRl research equipment.
In this series of workshops students were encouraged to participate in
individual and group research projects based on current RRL research
efforts. This program also included tours of other Computing facilities
at LSU, such as the Concurrent Computing Laboratory for Materials
Simulations and the Laboratory for Software Engineering.
Selected workshop topics included the following :
- Object Oriented programming using C++.
- Computer aided visualization.
- Information integration strategies for machine
vision systems.
- Knowledge based systems for Robotic planning and spatial databases.
Graduates of the workshop are attending work study programs in several laboratories including
Oak-Ridge National Lab, Cal-Tech and Entergy in association with the Department of Computer Science, LSU.
Other important educational achievements include :
- NSF supported workshop to enhance minority faculty education in the area of Vision and Image Processing.
The central purpose of this project is to enhance minority undergraduate faculty education in the areas of
robotics and machine vision.
- Fellows of Excellence Awards in undergraduate instruction for Computer and Information Science faculty.
During the last 2 yrs, Professor Iyengar served as the director of this state-wide project. This program is
sponsored by the Board of Regents of the State of Louisiana and has an annual budget of $94,675. The objective
of this project is to award a "Fellow of Excellence" to the qualifying faculty for excellence in undergraduate
instruction across universities and colleges in Louisiana.
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