Emily Lovell
University of California-Santa Cruz, CA·Education Research
Open source software is code that anyone can read, use and improve. It underpins most modern technology, from security tools to internet infrastructure.
- Fields
Education Research
Computer Science
- Topics
open source software
Open Source Program Office
computer science education
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Expose HBCU computer science students who have completed foundational coursework to open source career pathways through paid summer contributions to real-world open source software projects matched to their interests.
- Equip participants with workforce-preparatory skills rarely taught in undergraduate computing, using scaffolded situated learning, hybrid in-person and remote work, and mentoring from alumni, program staff and industry partners.
- Scale the Contributor Catalyst pilot from four students at one HBCU to up to 48 students from six HBCUs, iteratively assessing and documenting the program so other institutions can adapt it.
More about the research
Yet the people who build it do not reflect the people who use it, and few undergraduate computing programs teach the skills open source work requires. This project asks how hands-on experience can bring more students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) into open source careers.
Why it matters
HBCU computing students often lack routes into open source careers, even though open source shapes most technology people use. A tested, documented summer program could help these graduates build the skills and portfolios to move directly into open source roles. Other universities could then adapt it, broadening who builds widely used software.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Fan Wu
Tuskegee University, AL·Computer Science
Develop Project ACE training that combines machine learning and cybersecurity within cyberinfrastructure, teaching secure design and ML defenses against modern cyber threats.
Eddie Red
Morehouse College, GA·Education Research
Investigate how HBCUs with diverse academic cultures graduate African American STEM students at higher rates than other institutions, using convergence research across the Morehouse, Spelman and Virginia State hub and about fifty partner HBCUs.
Karl Wurst
Worcester State University, MA·Education Research
Engage undergraduates at five partner institutions in Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software development, using instructor-led projects, classroom HFOSS kits and Client Oriented-FOSS projects with local nonprofits.
The school
University of California-Santa Cruz: 15 labs on PI Pages, $218M a year on research, 183 research doctorates a year.
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