iSchool Capstone

2017

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SE Flow Chlorine Maker Dashboard

The SE Flow is a chlorine generator currently being developed by a team at MSR Global Health. In the future, the SE Flow will be deployed in countries to be used in clinics for infection prevention and control. We were given an opportunity to work with their team to design and develop an internal administrative dashboard that will help them manage and maintain their devices. In addition, we also developed a website for donors that have donated to this philanthropic cause that allows them to track their devices, hoping to give them a sense of fulfillment and encourage future donations.
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SearchParty - Making Search Meaningful & Actionable

One of the popular tools on the Pitchbook platform is their search engine, that allows investors to find what they are looking for from nearly a million records of possible investments. Currently their search engine offers an overwhelming number of search results without any meaningful order, and leaves little room for discovery. Our capstone project attempts to fix that by introducing a relevance factor to rank the search results, and by allowing the user to discover possible investments similar to previous successful investments, made either by the investor himself or by others. This makes search more meaningful and actionable for Pitchbook’s clients.
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Securing the Future of Aviation Information Systems: A Cyber Security Roadmap for IP-based ACARS Communications

Since the 1970s, ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) has provided the means for printed digital transmissions to be exchanged between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite. Projected traffic limitations of these radio systems have led to experimentation in transmitting ACARS messages over IP (Internet) networks. This project addresses the foremost concern of stakeholders across the industry for this emerging technology: cyber security. Using a research-based white paper format, I draw on technical, regulatory, and business dimensions to chart a path forward which mitigates the cyber risks of today and allows adaptation for the risks of tomorrow.
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Seniors & Librarians: Tech Skills, Security and Information Privacy

According to many studies, older patrons that struggle with technology will often turn to their library for support. Our sponsor noticed this trend at Kitsap Regional Library’s Sylvan Way Branch. However, two issues were apparent: first, there were inherent privacy concerns in helping patrons with their online needs and second, many patrons needed extensive help beyond the time that could reasonably be devoted to helping one patron. Through observation and research, our team created a series of handouts on a variety of targeted topics. Our work bridges the gap between protecting information privacy, education, and staff time constraints.
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Serendipitous Discovery

PitchBook Data is an online data platform that provides research, financial information, and resources to analyze private companies, investments and funds, private equity and venture capital. PitchBook wants to explore new ways to surface insightful information to their users by allowing them to discover more information beyond what they were searching for, making it a one stop shop for all of their VC research needs.
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Serving International Students at UW Libraries

I teamed up with the UW Libraries Teaching and Learning Group International Student/ELL Subcommittee to continue an investigation done by a capstone group in 2016. While the previous year’s project focused on reaching out to international students about their concerns, I reached out to the librarians and library staff at UW to see how conscious they are of the needs of the international student population and how they address those challenges. Through the course of the project I also gathered more information about what programs our international students are coming from in order to better inform staff and future training.
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Sight Transit

Sight Transit seeks to enable individuals with extreme vision impairments to navigate public transit in King County with a greater sense of independence. We utilize Raspberry Pis that act as beacons at bus stops, intended to create learnable patterns in the environment. Through our beacons' communication and integrating both the Google Maps and OneBusAway API, bus stop locations, directions, and arrival times become more precise and accessible. Designed to be VoiceOver compatible and usable to low-vision users, Sight Transit empowers users by making the environment work for them, providing the freedom to simply go.
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SightLife Data: Turning Data Points into Human Stories

Successful data communication inspires action. In India, where nearly half of the world’s corneal blind population lives, policy makers must be persuaded to implement policy change to more efficiently treat these citizens. Sponsored by SightLife, SightLife Data is an information visualization tool that dynamically demonstrates the potential impact that policy change can have. SightLife will be able to use this site to create advocates and inspire policy change that will help the organization accomplish their mission of eradicating corneal blindness worldwide by the year 2040.
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Símera - Maximize productivity with AI

We are Símera. This team, made up of Sean Ker (Designer), Alexander Bell-Towne (Developer), Tyler Bauer (Developer), and Christopher Maglio (Project Manager), aims to revolutionize daily planning. Current planners require users to input a multitude of information, and also make the user decide the best way to go about completing these tasks. Our research found that many users are deterred by this painstakingly long process, and consequently developed a solution. Símera uses machine learning along with Artificial Intelligence to become the personal assistant for the everyday person. Simply tell us “I need to get milk” or “I need to go to the gym today” and Símera knows the who, what, when, and where in your schedule this event would be the most convenient.
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Sistema Integrada de Información y Evaluación Tseltal (SIET)

One Equal Heart Foundation is working with the Tseltal indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico, to develop the first known Tseltal language library and archive, with the goal of preserving Tseltal language and culture. This Tseltal House of Wisdom is part of a larger community development initiative called Sistema Integrada de Información y Evaluación Tseltal (SIET), which includes a community radio station and fotohistorias-style evaluation project. We conducted capacity-building workshops in Chiapas emphasizing inventory, cataloging metadata, and digitization. We also provided recommendations on archival storage materials, and wrote a paper describing the intersection of Indigenous Systems of Knowledge and LIS theory.