Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Mississippi State University a $599,943 Project Grant under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) effective October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029. This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site provides a six-week summer research immersion program designed to enhance the computing and cybersecurity expertise of high school and community college educators in rural Mississippi and similar underserved regions. Over the three-year award period, the program will engage 30 educators annually in hands-on research activities embedded within faculty-led research groups at Mississippi State University, focusing on emerging cybersecurity and artificial intelligence applications including machine learning for radio frequency interference detection, algorithmic resilience in wireless networks, software reverse engineering, adversarial attacks on robot vision systems, and cybersecurity of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The primary deliverable of this RET Site is the development of educator research capacity and classroom-ready instructional materials that participants will bring back to their schools. Through structured mentorship during the six-week program—which includes foundational training in computing concepts, research ethics, and laboratory practices followed by direct participation in ongoing faculty research projects—participating teachers are equipped to increase student exposure to computing pathways and careers. By strengthening teacher expertise in computing and cybersecurity disciplines, the project creates a multiplier effect intended to reach hundreds of students annually and support the nation's workforce development pipeline in computing, national security, and related critical technology fields.