Cleveland State University Teams Awarded $225,000 for Technology-based Initiatives for Public Interest

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CLEVELAND (November 9, 2021) – The New America Foundation has selected three faculty-led teams at Cleveland State University (CSU) to fund projects totaling nearly $225,000. These projects will expand next-generation technologists, advocates and policymakers using technology and related expertise to proactively and transparently address critical problems in the public interest. The CSU group is among 31 teams to receive funding in the 2021 Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) Challenge.

“I am delighted that CSU has received this recognition and opportunity to broaden our public service work in significant and meaningful ways,” said Laura Bloomberg, Ph.D., CSU provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “Being part of the PIT University Network is an honor. It is also a reflection of our commitment to building nationwide connections aligned with our mission and vision.”

The CSU teams reflect a multidisciplinary approach and were developed with support of the CSU T.E.C.H Hub, a center focused on research and education related to advanced technology, and an extension of the Internet of Things Collaborative (IOTC) between CSU and Case Western Reserve University.

“This is significant national funding for important community-based technology projects,” said Shilpa Kedar, CSU T.E.C.H Hub executive director and co-executive director of the IOTC. “Membership in the PIT-UN has galvanized our?efforts to use?technology, for and in, the?public good.”

CSU-led teams were awarded funding as follows:

Privacy Assessment/Public Surveillance: Brian Ray, JD (CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection); Patricia Stoddard-Dare, Ph.D. (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Social Work); and Chansu Yu, Ph.D. (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washkewicz College of Engineering) received $90,000 to create the first comprehensive training program and student clinic to empower communities to understand and assess privacy and equity impacts of public technology and insure smart cities do not become surveillance cities.

“This project will pioneer a new kind of privac