Jordan Troutman is a Computer Science and Mathematics major and just spent his summer conducting research at Rutgers University-  and he’s only a SOPHOMORE!

List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Meyerhoff Scholars, Honors College

Title of your research project: Understanding Machine Learning Bias without a Ground Truth

Describe your project: My project aimed to understand how predictive computer algorithms can impose biases across protected groups (e.g. race, gender, etc.) when it is not possible to use common measures of comparing an algorithm's predicted outcome with its intended outcome. 

Who is your mentor(s) for your project? How did you find your mentor? Why did you choose them? My mentor was Dr. Anand Sarwate, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rutgers University.  It is ironic, actually, because he found me. I applied to the RiSE Research Experience at Rutgers through the Big Ten Academic Alliance Summer Research Opportunities application, and he reached out to me because my interest in data science and machine learning would be a perfect fit for this project.  I chose him because I was primarily interested in this field, but also because I was honored someone would want to take me under their wing to conduct research.

How did you become interested in this project? This project sparked my interest because it lies at the intersection of ethics and computer science.  I have always loved coding. But also, I think it is important to understand how individual actions contribute to the structure of our society.  We inherently give power to computers when we start to depend on them to make very complex human decisions, like choosing from a pool of resumes who the most qualified applicants are for a job.  For the computer scientists who create these machine learning algorithms, it is important that we understand the impact to what our programs--discriminatory or not--can affect the world we live in. Since the field of machine learning fairness stems from an analysis that saw black men to be twice as likely of being miscategorized of being high risk of committing a crime again compared to white criminals, I wanted to make sure that people who look like me are not going to be marginally discriminated against based upon a computer's decision.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The hardest part about researching this summer was overcoming the jargon barrier used in this specific field of machine learning fairness.  Being fairly new to research, the  novel vocabulary made research feel very advanced and out of my scope of understanding.  Once I got over the language barrier, I remembered that research is simply asking questions and then seeing if those questions can be answered.  Reading papers and getting acclimated to the conventions of contemporary researchers took a lot of time and effort, but it was overall worthwhile because research is really fun!

What has been the most rewarding part? The most rewarding part about researching this summer is that I can talk about the importance of making fair predictive algorithms to anyone.  Making people aware that machine learning algorithms, like Google search results, learn from observations (data), and if the scope of their observations is biased, then the algorithms will inherit those biases as well.  Since this field is very interdisciplinary, I believe it is crucial for researchers to be able to express their ideas in ways that individuals of varying fields and expertise can easily understand why their work is important.  This allows for more collaboration from other academic areas as well as making the essence of research a more inclusive experience.  Bringing more viewpoints on an important topic like machine learning fairness will point us in the direction of the best solution.

How will you disseminate your research? I have presented my research at the RiSE at Rutgers Symposium and the UMBC Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF).  I plan on presenting at URCAD in April, and at an undergraduate research conference this year.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? For UMBC students wanting to get into research, there is no requirement to be in a scholars program or have honors achievement.  Research is a simple concept that anyone can do.  Anyone who has ever identified a problem and envisioned the problem being solved is a researcher at heart.  It may be really intimidating to be working with people who have high degrees and extensive amounts of experience, but those garnishes will never replace the foundation of a researcher.  When anyone enters the world of research, it is important for them to bring their own experiences, perspective, and culture.  Diversity of thought makes problem-solving progress faster.  Additionally, treat attending class as an opportunity to understand rather than to get good grades; this skill and knowledge-base will easily transfer into research.  Get in contact with a professor who has interesting research, talk with them about their research, then get started!  If research may be too much for the school year, applying to summer research opportunities is a great option!

What are your career goals? After going to graduate school and getting my Ph.D., I would love to work at a university as a professor, then maybe become the dean of a college.  I want everyone to feel that learning is an exciting, thriving, living aspect of our everyday lives.  I would also like to work with computer scientists, educators, and policymakers to ensure developing technologies are being developed for the overall social good of our world.

Want to know how you can find a summer research experience?

Want to be the next Researcher of the Week? 

Email: aprilh@umbc.edu or visit ur.umbc.edu

Getting involved in research helps you network with faculty both on and off campus, strengthen your resume for graduate school, professional school, and employment, support your artistic vision, and helps you apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in a research setting. UMBC has several programs that support undergraduate research:

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film.

Undergraduate Research Awards (URA) provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate students to support their research or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor on an original project. UMBC students of all years and disciplines are invited to apply.

UMBC Review (Journal of Undergraduate Research) Published annually, this peer-reviewed journal features academic papers written by UMBC undergraduates.

Travel Awards Students who are invited to present their work at a conference or festival may apply for funds to support their travel.

Research Opportunities Assistance with finding and applying to summer REUs and other research opportunities.

Prestigious Scholarships Support for students applying for prestigious scholarships such as Rhodes, Gates-Cambridge, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and others.

For more information, contact Dr. April Householder at aprilh@umbc.edu or visit:

ur.umbc.edu

Briana Yancy is a Geography and Environmental Science Major with a Psychology Minor who will graduate in May, 2019.

List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Meyerhoff Scholar 27 Cohort, URA Scholar 

Title of your research project: Nest Site Characteristics of the Bahama Oriole: Habitat Requirements of a Critically Endangered Species

What has been the most rewarding part? The most rewarding part is the outreach and effect on the community in the Bahamas this project has had. Every year we run into people who have our cards or have heard of us and want to help. They end up showing us nests or giving us valuable information about the birds and they always like to learn more about the project and how we are doing. 

Sept. 5, Noon – 12:50 p.m.
Sherman Hall-A 113

The Diversity Summer Internship Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has an opening for a fall internship (minimum of 10 hours/week) supporting the Day at the Market initiative based in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and The Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. 

The Day at the Market is a multifaceted program of outreach and engagement sponsored by the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus. The program takes place at the Northeast Market the first Tuesday as well as every second and last Wednesday of every month.  The Northeast Market is where Johns Hopkins meets the community and is an important venue where Johns Hopkins can bridge the disconnect regarding the lack of access to resources and information. Our Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, students and researchers participate in Market Day and use this program as a learning tool for being a better partner with the community, as a dissemination vehicle to return what they have learned to the community, and as a means to deepen interactions with community partners and members. The goals of the initiative include providing patrons with pertinent educational materials, answers to questions from experts, and services or resources that will help them make positive behavioral changes for health. 

The internship includes opportunities for translating research, developing health promotion messages and products, while engaging with the local community.

DSIP is designed to assist students in preparing for graduate school and includes:        

·         Community or lab based research internship with a faculty mentor

·         Completion of a formal research writing project (research paper, evaluation, proposal, etc)

·         Public health and professional development

·         An NIH funded stipend of $10/hour  (August- January with flexible start and end dates)

·         Flexible hours based on academic schedule

Requirements

·         A genuine interest in public health and community engagement

·         Strong communication skills

·         Willingness to learn

·         Able to work in a team and independently

·         Availability for in-person participation on market days

·         Students currently in their second year (or higher) from all majors are encouraged to apply including biology, chemistry, public health, environmental health science, health education/science, pre-med, and psychology.

Undergraduate students who are US citizens or permanent residents and who are currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program within a U.S. college or university are eligible to apply. Applicants should have completed two years of study prior to beginning the program. Students from underrepresented minority groups and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in careers in public health, science, and medicine are encouraged to apply.

How to apply

Submit the attached application with all requested materials by July 27 to jharring7@jhu.edu .