Research Grants

Principal Investigator:

Dr. Peter J. Clarke (Lead-PI), Dr. Debra Davis (Co-PI) – FIU; Dr. Tariq M. King (PI) - North Dakota State University; Dr. James Kiper (PI) Miami University-Ohio; and Dr. Yujian Fu (PI) Alabama A&M University. “Type 2 Collaborative Project: Integrating Testing into Advanced CS/IT Courses Supported by a Cyberlearning Environment”, Agency NSF DUE-1225742. Dates: 08/15/12 – 07/31/15. Value of award $600K. FIU received $360K for 3 years.

Abstract: Ensuring the quality of software systems in the 21^st Century requires an improved pedagogical approach to teaching software testing that exploits the cyberinfrastructure currently accessible to academic institutions and the social networking inclinations of our students. Two main factors highlight the need to provide students in the computing disciplines with greater access to learning materials on software testing: the high cost associated with the production of software systems that contain errors; and the need to adequately train future software engineers and computer programmers since these occupations are projected to increase by 21% from 2008 to 2018.

The project is creating new cyberlearning materials on software testing and improving faculty expertise in the knowledge and use of software testing techniques and tools by: (1) creating a cyberlearning environment (WReSTT – Web-based Repository of Software Testing Tutorials) that provides students and instructors with access to tutorials on software testing concepts and tools; (2) conducting workshops to develop faculty expertise in software testing and using the features in WReSTT to support pedagogy; (3) fostering students’ acquisition of software testing concepts and skills in undergraduate programming courses; and (4) promoting WReSTT and disseminating the research findings to the academic community. The project team consists of experienced instructors and evaluators from a cross-section of institutions, including institutions with students from underrepresented groups. Three industry partners support the project by serving on the project’s advisory board, presenting testing tool tutorials at faculty workshops, and making testing tools available to students at academic institutions.

Dr. Peter J. Clarke (PI). “Self-Configuration of Communication Frameworks to Aggregate Services and Minimize Communication Cost to Users”, Agency: FIU Foundation. Dates: 06/25/08-06/22/09. Value of award: $18,396 for one year.

Abstract: The pervasive use of electronic communication applications such as instant messaging and voice over internet protocol (VoIP), are continuing to extend the services they provide to end-users due to market competition. The quest for the competitive edge has resulted in the development of open platform communications frameworks such as Skype, Java MSN Messenger Library (JML) and Google Talk, among others. We performed a preliminary study that showed the services available through these different communication frameworks can however be quite dissimilar. For example, with Skype there is a charge for calls to land lines but with Google Talk there is no charge. Providing a software solution to aggregate services and minimize cost for users can have a major impact on electronic communication.

We propose to develop a software solution that will incorporate several communication frameworks to provide a greater selection of services to the user and minimize financial cost. Our solution will be based on the concept of dynamic self-configuration, a self-management property of autonomic computing. We will use the scenarios from our preliminary work to: create a system design, implement a prototype of the system, and test the prototype. We will then evaluate the prototype by performing comparative studies against existing communication solutions, focusing on services offered and financial cost. The results of this project can lead to: (1) extramural funding in the research areas of autonomic computing and optimizing communication services and (2) possible commercialization of the solution for the plethora of communication devices currently being used.

URL for CVM Technology: http://www.cis.fiu.edu/cml

Dr. Peter J. Clarke, (PI-Lead), Dr. Rochelle Michel (Snr. Inv). “Collaborative Research: Web-Based Repository of Software Testing Tools (WReSTT)”, Agency: NSF DUE-0736833. Dates: 02/01/08 to 01/31/10. Value of award $133K for 2 years. Collaborative proposal with Dr. Edward Jones (PI-FAMU) NSF DUE-0736771.

Abstract: This collaborative project supports the pedagogical needs of students and instructors in programming and software engineering courses by providing access to a comprehensive and up-to-date Web-based Repository of Software Testing Tools (WReSTT). The specific objectives of the project are to: (1) increase the number of users at participating academic institutions that currently have access to vetted software testing tools in a single repository; (2) provide a forum where computer science and information technology instructors can improve their knowledge of software testing and software testing tools to support pedagogy; and (3) improve student knowledge of testing tools. Students required to use the tools provided by WReSTT for class assignments are able to (a) improve their conceptual understanding of the approaches used to test software, and (b) improve their practical software testing skills with respect to the testing tools in WReSTT. Instructors incorporate these testing tools into the curriculum of the CS1, CS2 and CS3 courses.

URL for WReSTT: http://wrestt.cis.fiu.edu/

Co-Principal Investigator:

Dr. Masoud Milani (PI), Dr. Xudong He (Co-PI), Dr. Peter J. Clarke (Co-PI) and Dr. Christine Lisetti (Co-PI). “GAANN Fellowships in Computer Science at FIU”, Agency: US Dept of Ed., Dates: 08/01/2009 to 07/31/2012. Value of award 643K for 3 years.
Dr. Xudong He (PI) and Dr. Peter J. Clarke (Co-PI). “An Integrated Software Tool for Modeling and Model-based Control of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment”. Agency: NSF/SC Solutions, Inc. NSF IIP-0450482. Dates: 6/15/08 to 6/14/09. Value of award $105K for one year.

Dr. Xudong He (PI), Dr. Masoud Milani (Co-PI) and Dr. Peter J. Clarke (Co-PI). “Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need”, Agency: Dept of Ed. P200A070543, Dates: 08/15/2007 to 08/14/2010. Value of award $383K for 3 years.

Senior Investigator:

Dr. Yi Deng (PI), Dr. Xudong He (Co-PI), Dr. Naphtali Rishe (Co-PI), Dr. Malek Adjouadi (Co-PI), and Dr. Armando Barreto (Co-PI). "CREST: Center for Innovative Information Systems Engineering". Agency: NSF. Dates: 8/1/08 to 7/31/13. Requested amount $5M. Role: Senior Investigator.
Subproject entitled: Dr. Xudong He (PI), Shu-Ching Chen (Co-PI), Peter J. Clarke (Co-PI), Xiaowen (Jason) Liu (Co-PI), S. Masoud Sadjadi (Co-PI), and Armando Barreto (Co-PI). CREST "Complex System Modeling, Analysis and Realization (CS-MAR)". Role in subproject: Co-PI.

Dr. Masoud Milani (PI), Dr. Tao Li (Co-PI), Dr. Peter J Clarke (Snr. Inv.), Dr. Raju Rangaswami (Snr. Inv.), Dr. S. Masoud Sadjadi (Snr. Inv.), and Dr. Chi Zhang (Snr. Inv.). “Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Autonomic Computing Research at FIU” Agency: NSF IIS-0552555, Dates: 02/15/2006 to 01/31/2009. Value of award $300K for 3 years.

Last updated 09/01/2009