SWITCH – PATHS-UP

    I am proud to be a member of the SWITCH – PATHS-UP research program. For the first time, the SWITCH program will be completely virtual. Week one has been a whirlwind. I cannot believe we are one week down.

    Monday, we all met for the first time. Zoom is our go-to virtual environment. Our first assignment was a reading list. The reading list contained articles on Machine Learning and Computer Vision. I was amazed at how much we rely on Machine Learning and Computer Vision in our daily lives. Machine Learning and Computer Vision have grown exponentially in recent years. Both will play a significant role in our “Gaze Detection” project.

Detecting attention levels

    One of the essential things (among others) I gleam from programs such as this is the chance to learn from other educators. The program has a vast collection of educators with impressive backgrounds. I am sure I will learn a great deal from this team.  During our Zoom meeting, we had the opportunity to meet and hear Dr. Ashutosh Sabharwal. He discussed the fantastic research that is taking place in the field of Diabetes. 

      Wednesday, we had a discussion session that contained a Q & A with Gerry Cote from Texas A & M. He gave an overview of the PATHS-UP program. The Grand Challenges the program is trying to accomplish is assisting underserved populations with low SES with Diabetes education. The program aims to create a paradigm shift in the perception of healthcare in underserved communities.  

Areas of concentration for Diabetes Research

    They are working on a cost-effective device to monitor blood levels in individuals that are Diabetic. Dr. Cote mentioned  two devices that are in use today the “Lab on your waist” and the “Lab on your Palm.” These devices help people unobtrusively monitor glucose levels for those with Diabetes. Unfortunately, these devices are expensive to obtain and maintain for persons of low SES. New, more affordable devices are in development.  

    Thursday, we met with Mary Jin. She is a graduate student at Rice University. Mary is one of the leads in the program. She brings an enormous amount of energy, research experience as well as technical knowledge to our team. She introduced us to OpenCV. OpenCV is a program that allows programmers to capture images and video files from computer webcams; this is very exciting! Stay tuned!