UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State student teams used artificial intelligence to create more efficient ways for students to study, find a job and assess the housing situation. Revu, Resilient Resumes and LionPad received a combined total of $25,000 from the Nittany AI Alliance to continue working on their solutions, which were developed during the 2019 Nittany AI Challenge. The funding was awarded on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Nittany AI Challenge Celebration Event.
Revu, awarded $15,000:
Christina Warren from the College of Arts and Architecture and Matthew Mancini from the College of Engineering created Revu, a product to keep students engaged when learning from reading assignments by automatically generating multiple choice quizzes to keep them focused while also testing comprehension of key concepts. Future feature implementations will include flash card generation, saving quizzes and notes, and a mode made specifically for instructors. Warren and Mancini also participated in the 2018 Nittany AI Challenge as part of LionPlanner.
Resilient Resumes, awarded $5,000:
Team members who created Resilient Resumes are from several Penn State commonwealth campuses: Amie Croteau, Ian Morrissey and Ethan Adams are from Penn State Berks; Bryan Cruz Ulloa is from Penn State Harrisburg; and Austin Tucker is from Penn State University Park. Resilient Resumes is a web application for students to compile their personal information concisely and receive real-time feedback on how to improve their data for their resume. Acting as a support to Penn State Career Services, this app creates a working resume for the student to help land an internship or position after graduation.
LionPad, awarded $5,000:
LionPad was created by Jack Mentch, Neil Ashtekar, Ishan Muzumdar and Nikhil Nayyar from Schreyer Honors College. LionPad provides students with resources to efficiently and comfortably navigate all stages of the housing search process by connecting students with their ideal living situation.
The three teams were chosen out of seven finalists by members of the Nittany AI Challenge Review Committee. Funding was allocated by members of an award committee.
Tracey Huston, vice president for Penn State Outreach and a member of both committees, said evaluations were based on the teams’ product advancement during each of the three phases of the Nittany AI Challenge, including use of AI to solve a problem, advance a solution and/or improve a current service, certain product requirement criteria, and a diverse student representation.
“Revu generated support from both committees, based on the product’s potential use by students and instructors to improve the student experience, and the impact it could have on improving a student’s opportunity for success,” Huston said. “Resilient Resumes and LionPad also demonstrated the potential for immediate impact on the student experience. We are so proud of each of the student teams that competed, they all demonstrated a will to succeed and the tenacity needed to balance their studies while approaching a project that can positively impact the world around them.”
Daren Coudriet, director for the Nittany AI Alliance, said the challenge gives students the opportunity to work with AI platforms from companies such as Oracle, Google, Microsoft and Amazon and is looking forward to expanding the vision of the challenge for 2020.
“Our top three teams exemplify the innovative spirit of Penn State and provide an exciting glimpse of what is possible with AI,” Coudriet said. “This is particularly exciting as the challenge expands in 2020 to add pillars for health, humanitarianism, sustainability and climate change.”
Students who are interested in working with AI and want to compete in the 2020 Nittany AI Challenge, can participate in several upcoming workshops, including AI Immersion events which are scheduled throughout the fall and spring. The deadline for idea submissions for the 2020 Nittany AI Challenge is Jan. 31, 2020.
