Recognizing the significance of nurturing students' interest in science and technology from an early age, researchers at Georgia Tech welcomed Drew Charter High School students to the AI4OPT Institute. The visit provided an opportunity for the students to explore and learn about the ongoing AI and optimization research at Georgia Tech.

"Exposing students to AI early and giving them the confidence to enter the field is a critical part of the educational mission of AI4OPT. It helps democratize access to AI education and the AI workforce, which is strongly needed and will continue to be in the foreseeing future," said Pascal Van Hentenryck, the director of AI4OPT, who welcomed the students and gave a comprehensive overview of the Institute, with a glimpse into each of the other 24 AI Institutes funded by the NSF.

During the day, the students also experienced the exciting world of Snap!, a visual programming language taught in Level 1 of the Seth Bonder Camp (SBC), which receives support from the Seth Bonder Foundation.

"I've also thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to work with Pascal, who is such an expert in the field," said Drew Charter Engineering Teacher and Academic Integration Specialist, Ms. Beth White, who helped divide the high school students into small groups of six, with each group paired with one of Van Hentenryck's college students and Kevin Dalmeijer, the managing director of AI4OPT.

They had guided tours of the AI4OPT labs and working spaces. The exploration continued as students toured the Georgia Tech campus before venturing into the Van Leer Building's Robotarium before closing with a visit to the Student Center, where the students had lunch and reflected on the experiences of the day.

During the visit, Simeon Adams, a sophomore at Drew Charter, shared his admiration for the work environment of researchers. "It's so nice,” said Adams. “I can see myself in a place like this. Even though the work looks incredibly difficult and draining, listening to Mr. Pascal passionately explain the nature of Machine Learning (ML), I can't help but find it interesting and fun. As a sophomore, I'm still undecided about future plans, but I am drawn towards math and science. I have ambitions to become an engineer."

Dorian Townes, also a sophomore at Drew Charter, found the atmosphere of engineers and researchers to be inspirational. "This is exactly the kind of environment I aspire to be a part of," Townes proclaimed. "I'm drawn to the project-based approach here, where the work feels tangible and authentic, far from overwhelming as I originally thought. Personally, I'm interested in project-based careers that offer versatility. I don’t want to confine myself to a single job. I can see myself becoming an architect—with an engineering background."

AI4OPT Empowers and Inspires Students through Collaboration with Drew Charter

Ms. White and Van Hentenryck have been collaborating to create meaningful opportunities for Drew Charter High School students since fall 2021, with the intention to nurture an environment where passion for STEM and learning converge.

“I cannot express how much I value the experience of co-teaching an engineering practice class with Ms. White at Drew Charter High School. It is a unique collaboration: Ms. White has great instincts on what will resonate with her student, and we continuously brainstorm on how to structure and present the material” said Van Hentenryck who has joined Ms. White for a six week to assist in teaching the basics of ML so students can apply it to problems that interest them,” said Van Hentenryck.

“The collaboration with Drew Charter centers around object recognition, a topic that students are already familiar with, specifically referring to computer vision,” said Ms. White.

The objective is for the students to design models that we will utilize and gather in class. These models will have the ability to recognize students as they enter the class through voice activation. For example, when a student says, 'Good morning, Jaden' or 'Good morning, Jordan,' the model should be able to identify them based on their physical appearance. (See model 1)

Model 1

“The data collected from these models will be valuable for teachers to track student attendance and more,” said Ms. White. In the future, she plans to expand her efforts by exploring the capture of three specific emotions through object recognition. This additional data can be helpful for teachers in checking attendance and understanding the mood of students.

However, for now, the primary focus is on introducing students to the connection between content and the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML).

“We understand that the intricate processes involved may not be fully grasped by our students, but we aim to empower them to make choices regarding technology, including Machine Learning, by the end of the unit,” said Ms. White, who is enthusiastic about making her work as accessible as possible through the design of her curriculum.

Ms. White wants to ensure that students are well-prepared as they progress from one course to another, fostering momentum in developing their skills, application knowledge, and literacy in STEM fields.