A culture of philanthropy and the history of computing as an agent of change are coming together at the College of Computing. Technology has been changing the world at a rapid pace for decades, and now a major promise of computer science is to improve the human condition and facilitate the progress of communities and the advancement of societies.

“It's really an emerging value system for the college, as well as a desire to make a difference personally,” says Santosh Vempala, a distinguished professor in the college's School of Computer Science. "We would like all faculty and all students to consider the power they have as seasoned or emerging computer scientists to really make changes in the lives of people who struggle to help themselves."

Computing for Good (C4G) began to make waves at the College of Computing when Vempala made a presentation in fall 2007 to an all-faculty meeting about a growing national movement sometimes called “computing for a cause” or “socially relevant computing.”

C4G centers on the use of computing as a platform for improving the human condition. It draws on both the self-focused and altruistic sides of students by presenting computer science as a cutting-edge technological discipline that empowers them to solve problems of personal interest as well as problems that are important to society at large.

As a result of Vempala’s presentation, some computing faculty created an informal working group to find ways the college might practice the concept and reach out to traditionally under-served groups. The most logical first step, the group believed, was to create a class in which students could work toward answers to significant real-world problems.

So in spring 2008, Vempala, assistant professor Michael Best in the School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and joint with Computing, and School of Computer Science Professor and Chair Ellen Zegura co-taught a course called Computing for Good (C4G). About two dozen graduate and undergraduate students formed teams to tackle challenges in public health, society and politics as close as downtown Atlanta and as far away as sub-Saharan Africa.

“They are down on the ground working on a real problem – using technology to help in global health initiatives or to heal a nation coming out of civil conflict -- not sitting in a lab at Tech,” says Best. “Students today want to do work where they can see its impact in real terms.”

The C4G impact has been immediate and real. Below is a sample list of projects germinated in the original C4G class and their current status:
•    MOSES—a mobile video recording kiosk designed by Georgia Tech students to capture video testimony and start a national dialogue between Liberia’s government and its people after years of devastating civil war. Status: The project, blessed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has captured scores of video testimonies from rural villages, presented its findings to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Committee, and is now working with officials to compile into an official government report on civil war atrocities.
•    Blood Safety Monitoring—a web-based tool to monitor the safety of blood supplies in African nations ravaged by HIV and AIDS. Status: The tool was adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is currently being implemented in blood centers in 14 African nations. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) has met with the project’s student leads and is considering adoption of the web-based tool in all WHO countries that report on blood safety.
•    Shelter Tracking—a new computer program designed to allow the United Way to identify available shelter space for the homeless based on their situation or need (i.e. family, health, etc.). Status: The projected is currently being tested and rolled out among United Way centers in the 13-county metro Atlanta region.
•    OPEACE—a web-based portal and learning tool for summer and after-school programs in lower-income Atlanta neighborhood to benefit under-served children, parents and instructors. Status: In July 2008, the portal was implemented by the Operation P.E.A.C.E. summer and after-school center and is now the primary scheduling, tracking and reporting tool for the program.

“The best thing about the class is that the students have the opportunity to do something good and meaningful while they are also getting an education,” Vempala says.

The course is new, but the concept of applying computing to social causes and improving quality of life through computing fits very well into the College’s history and its basic vision: to expand the horizons of computer science students through interdisciplinary education, collaboration, international experience and a focus on human-centered solutions.

“One of the major goals of the program at the College of Computing has been to align our curriculum and our students’ experiences with the reality that computing is increasingly global, human-centered and focused on solving problems,” says Rich DeMillo, former John P. Imlay Jr. Dean of Computing. “Computing for Good combines all those elements and allows students to work for causes they really care about. Passion is crucial to effective learning.”

C4G has created a buzz on campus that’s attracting attention from both students and administrators. For 2009, the College of Computing plans to double its seating capacity for its C4G class (from 17 in 2008) in response to the significant “on the ground” interest from students. Additional efforts (current and planned) to integrate C4G into the College’s academic offerings and institutional goals include:
•    partnering with Atlanta-based TechBridge to identify new C4G projects for 2009
•    student-formed community technology assistance organization called Humanitech
•    pursuing scholarships and fellowships in C4G from industry or government
•    a symposium, “Computing at the Margins,” to be held May 6-7 focusing on technological research benefiting under-served communities

But C4G goes well beyond a single classroom. Faculty and students throughout the College are and have been working on research that will have far-reaching positive impact on the lives of people all over the world. One example is the Aware Home Research Initiative, a living laboratory built at Georgia Tech in 1999 that allows researchers to examine how technology—both current and future—can be shaped to enhance individual lives and solve problems of significant social and economic impact.

Projects include research on technology for aging and disabled individuals that will enhance their quality of life and/or help them maintain independence in their own homes for as long as possible, as well as systems that support doctors, therapists and families in the diagnosis and management of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Another project, by Interactive Computing Professor Keith Edwards and Ph. D. student Chris Le Dantec, looks at what sorts of technological interventions might improve the lives of homeless people.

“Although many think of the homeless living in ‘information poverty’—not knowing where to go for help, for resources, etc.—actually the reverse is true,” Edwards says. “They have to interact with many different outreach organizations and have to manage a complex schedule of appointments and reporting obligations with them. There's an opportunity for information technology, if done in a way that's sensitive to their particular situation and context, to make a big difference in their lives.”

In the Computer Science and Engineering Division of the College, faculty are working on concepts and technologies that impact research on cancer and other deadly diseases and programs for computer modeling of things as different as climate and blood flow.

Many computer scientists believe “computing for good” has the potential to reinvigorate the discipline as it emerges from a 10-year slump and to attract a new generation of students to the field.

Interim Dean of Computing Jim Foley is co-chair of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Image of Computing Task Force. "We are finding that today's incoming college students don’t really know what computer scientists actually do, or how a degree in computing will help them," he says. "C4G paints a powerful picture for these students. They may arrive without a background in computing, but then they see what an impact they can make with it and suddenly they are able to picture themselves in computer science."

Current students also can benefit from approaching their work in a context of computing for social change.

“When students create practical solutions for socially relevant problems, they feel more enthusiastic about and committed to their work because they can actually see the impact of what they are doing,” Zegura says. “They become socially active citizens of the world through computer science.”