Sergio Gago-Masague and Nalini Venkatasubramanian Awarded $537,000 NSF REU Site Grant for AIoT-Sys
Sergio Gago-Masague, associate professor of teaching computer science and director of the Master of Computer Science program, and Nalini Venkatasubramanian, professor of computer science, at the UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Computer Sciences (ICS) have been awarded a $537,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to advance their project, “Enhancing AI-Driven Insights Within IoT-Enabled Ecosystems.”
Over the next three years, the NSF grant will support 24-30 undergraduate students across the nation interested in exploring summer research at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). The eight-week program, called AIoT-Sys, will take place over the summer, beginning in 2026. Participants will engage with ICS faculty members, be exposed to research, learn to use tools for AIoT programs and find support for pursuing a graduate program.
The AIoT-Sys program has evolved from the existing IoT-SITY REU Program. It will incorporate a more AI-centered focus to address a burgeoning field for research experiences for undergraduates (REU). The mission remains unchanged: to provide undergraduate students with opportunities in key emerging fields of AI and IoT, thereby exposing them to research.
Gago-Masague explains the importance of AIoT:
“These two fields go together — the IoT devices and the AI methods that make things smart and connected to a network, allowing you to control or monitor them remotely. Most IoT systems include sensors that collect data. We can use this data to build machine learning models and predict various outcomes. Given the popularity of AI, this is taking on another dimension. New hardware can help us train models much more efficiently. Such AIoT systems affect every aspect of our lives via many fields such as health, transportation, security, privacy, and productivity.”
The AIoT-Sys approach is hands-on with the goal of encouraging all students to contribute. The participants will work together as a team, with the human element as a priority. Another goal is to increase student engagement and inspire them to go to graduate school.
The research projects offered will show how to conduct research, what it means to have a hypothesis, what tools are needed for the implementation of IoT programs, what state-of-the-art hardware is used for specific applications, and what specific tools are used for AI when paired with IoT.
The value for students is to gain hands-on experience in conducting research at a top RO1 university, particularly in applied fields like IoT and AIoT. “They will be working with faculty who are leaders in their field and with brilliant graduate students. When we work together, we are a team,” says Gago-Masague. “Key values for students include teamwork, to understand the background associated with the project, learning things that are necessary to be able to contribute to the project, and understanding the overall pipeline of a research project. I think that’s the main value for the students.”
“The hope is to inspire students to be engaged and encourage them to proceed to graduate school because the experience shows them what they can build,” says Gago-Masague. “It’s really something that everyone can contribute to if you’re passionate about it, if you want to learn, if you want to put in the work, the time and the effort – making it, in one word, approachable.”
Vinh Luong, director of ICS Office of Outreach, Access and Inclusion (OAI), says, “AIoT provides us with the opportunity to expand on the IoT-SITY Program, led by Prof. Nalini Venkatasubramanian, to continue to provide students with valuable undergraduate research experience. The goal of the program is to empower students, encourage them to explore foundational topics in computing, and to explore a graduate degree in a computing field. The program functions as an onramp to graduate school and connects them to the UC Irvine campus, communities, and resources along the way. In addition to providing these students with research experience, it also prepares them for the graduate school admission process. During the 8-week program, the students participate in writing workshops, refine their personal statement, and are supported by the UC Irvine Graduate Office.”
Venkatasubramanian comments, “AI techniques bring exciting opportunities to create new capabilities in IoT-enabled systems that society relies on. The impacts can be seen in fields ranging from healthcare, commerce, public safety to critical infrastructures such as water, energy and transportation. However, integrating AI into our everyday lives brings with it several challenges – trustworthiness of results, data bias, security, accessibility and cost are some examples. These issues must be addressed in meaningful ways before high-stakes decisions using AI can be made. In this program, students will get to understand the benefits and consequences of merging AI and IoT first hand, helping design impactful solutions for future societies.”
Because of the rapid advancement of technology, being at the forefront of AIoT will give participants an advantage. “I think it’s exciting to be part of it, understanding and being part of this advancement in technology,” says Gago-Masague. “It’s not only exciting and impactful, but it will enhance the career opportunities of the students who can be exposed to this early on.”
– Tonya Becerra