SAC Professor Wins Renewed Google Funding for Undergraduate Research in Artificial Intelligence

A new grant award from Google Research is helping to prepare San Antonio College students for a future where artificial intelligence drives the economy.

SAC engineering professor Dr. Henry Griffith recently won a second grant from Google’s exploreCSR program, providing $39,000 to create hands-on learning opportunities for students in engineering and computing. The grant aims to encourage historically marginalized individuals to explore careers in computing research.

The new award is more than double Griffith’s initial grant of $18,000, which was awarded for the 2022-23 academic year. He was the first community college professor to win a grant from the Google exploreCSR program.  

“AI is transforming all aspects of our economy,” said Griffith, who is an active researcher in artificial intelligence and the chair of the mathematics, engineering, and computing department at SAC. “To ensure that SAC graduates are prepared for success upon entering the workforce or transferring, it is essential that they have access to state-of-the-art learning opportunities in AI.”

The funding has helped Griffith modernize the engineering curriculum at SAC, incorporating advanced computing, AI, and mixed reality. Other advances include the development of a new data science and AI degree program, which is expected to launch in 2025, and a new AI build lab, which will offer advanced equipment for students studying AI, data science, engineering, and computer science, available in fall 2024. 

The grant funding also provides research opportunities to introduce students to artificial intelligence, including a generative AI workshop and research immersion experiences. SAC students can apply to become Google exploreCSR fellows and receive a stipend to participate in research opportunities, including shadowing partnering professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Texas State University.

Students don’t need elite skills to succeed in the fellowship, they only need to demonstrate potential, Griffith said.

“One thing we’ve found is that students from community colleges, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, are intimidated to apply for undergraduate research opportunities because they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into,” Griffith said. “The goal of this is to give them first-hand knowledge of what it would look like to do a more extended research experience.”

SAC students began completing research immersion experiences during the spring 2024 semester. Initial participants include SAC engineering students Angelina Zermeno Mendoza and Lauren Jenkins, who completed an immersion experience in the UTSA hypersonics laboratory under Dr. Christopher Combs. Amanda Vargas, an information assurance and cybersecurity student at SAC, is now completing an immersion experience related to generative AI with Dr. Heena Rathore at Texas State University.

Rathore, an assistant professor of computer science at Texas State, is co-principal investigator on the grant along with Griffith. She is also on the advisory board for SAC’s upcoming data science and AI degree program.

“The research immersion experiences are an excellent tool for establishing research identity and self-efficacy in students,” Rathore said. “These opportunities allow Google exploreCSR fellows to establish their initial professional network, develop their technical skills, and gain awareness of future transfer and graduate training opportunities within engineering and computing.”

Rathore’s goal is to increase female participation in computer science and engineering through the grant. She recently helped lead a group of more than 20 female students from SAC and Texas State to visit the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio to learn about robotics, including autonomous vehicles and drones.

Google exploreCSR fellow Gaby Sanchez recently transferred from SAC to UTSA, where she is pursuing a double major in electrical and computer engineering. As a fellowship participant, she worked on developing programming skills.

“At first I was a little nervous because it’s a little bit out of my comfort zone. I don’t have a lot of experience with programming,” she said. “But they reassured me that I had what it takes to succeed in it and they’ve been really helpful as guides.”

Her participation in the fellowship has opened doors for her to pursue undergraduate research opportunities. This summer, she’s assisting on a research project at Texas State studying the ethical behavior embedded in large language models such as ChatGPT.

Other exploreCSR programming includes visits to tech industry leaders, guest lecturers, and generative AI workshops to earn Google certification badges.

Whatever their experience level, students are encouraged to give back as part of their fellowship. Former SAC student Max Vela is now pursuing a civil engineering degree at UTSA. As part of his Google exploreCSR fellowship, he taught 3D printing concepts to high school students in SAC’s summer camp outreach program and answered their questions about the path from high school to college.

The experience was a way to share the encouragement and motivation Vela received in the SAC engineering program.

“Before I met Dr. Griffith, I didn’t know if I was going to continue in engineering,” Vela said. “He made me feel like I have what it takes and helped me gain confidence in what I’m doing.”

-SAC-