Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science Recognized Nationally Li Yang, a professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected to receive a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation. A Guerry professor, she was selected for the 2021 Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment in National Spectrum Collaboration Group (NSCG). The award recognizes outstanding accomplishment and strategic collaboration in the research and use of radio waves, which are widely used in many technologies, including telecommunications. “I am honored to work with dedicated colleagues on this important initiative and be selected for the Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment,” Yang said. Yang’s research in cybersecurity, computer science, artificial intelligence and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has attracted more than $4 million funding to UTC from the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies over the years. She contributes to the NSF’s efforts and initiatives to advance the nation’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries. The National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute’s program is a joint effort between various industries and the NSF, the Science and Technology Directorate and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security and Transportation. She also manages the NSF Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program, which supports research to sustain economic competitiveness, promote worker well-being and the pursuit of lifelong learning and quality of life. In 2019, she was chosen as a Program Director for NSF’s Division of Graduate Education. In the role, she is responsible for programs that manage STEM proposals and awards in areas of cybersecurity artificial intelligence, future of the work, computer science, cyber-infrastructure and education research.
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Forward Motion, a College of Engineering and Computer Science outreach initiative, is aimed toward supporting middle-school females in their engineering and computer science pursuits. In the project introduction, the video states, “UTC’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is committed to supporting females in STEM fields and STEM education! By honoring times those who have failed or faced roadblocks yet have persevered and overcome, we honor the true essence of STEM: Failing Forward (because an object in motion stays in motion).” “In an effort to motivate young women, we must show them that STEM fields approach problems differently. You don’t have to be right the first time! You just have to alter your approach,” Evonne Hackett, teacher at Lakeview Middle School, explains. In the Girls Preparatory School (GPS) segment of the series, one of the students featured, Mary Stuart, is now a CECS freshman. Mary Stuart describes her STEM capabilities eloquently, “harder projects are more challenging, but also more engaging.” One very cool impact of the series—the Catoosa County Technology Director used their episode to leverage funds for a Summer STEM Camp. Forward Motion has certainly affected the Chattanooga community in positive and lasting ways.
