Since my
second week at Fordham, I have been a member of the Wireless Sensor Data Mining
(WISDM) lab. WISDM collects and mines
sensor data from smartphones with the goal of implementing the findings to change
how smart mobile devices are used. We
currently work with Android devices, and one of our projects is an app that
performs activity recognition using your smartphone’s accelerometer. The Actitracker app promotes a healthier
lifestyle by helping you monitor your physical activities. If you have an Andorid phone check it out!
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| Actitracker App |
My advisor
introduced me to Dr. Weiss, the professor running the lab, because I am a
computer science major. I was surprised
that they would let a freshman work on the project, but my curiosity led me to
pursue the opportunity.
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| A typical WISDM meeting |
I did not come to school with an extraordinary background in research, but my lack of
experience did not exclude me from participating. I started off by attending the weekly
meetings and helping with data collections. Seeing my commitment, Dr. Weiss paired me up with a senior on the
project who started to teach me the skills I would need to conduct data mining
experiments of my own. My current work
focuses on improving our methods for biometric identification, where we predict
the identity of a user from a set based on samples of their walking gait.
Fordham
College Rose Hill is very supportive of undergraduate research. During the fall, I received a Fordham
Undergraduate Research Grant to help fund my work, and the next semester, I
presented my work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. I was also able to continue my work on campus
with WISDM over the summer, thanks to Fordham and a generous Clare Boothe Luce
Research Scholarship.
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| 2013 Fordham University Undergraduate Research Symposium |
I have
gained great friends as well as valuable experience working with WISDM. Don’t make the mistake of assuming freshman
can’t work on research. Talk to
upperclassmen, your advisor, and your professors to find opportunities. Find what interests you and get involved!
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