ASAP Researchers and Professors Neil Charness and Wally Boot (FSU Psychology), John Sobanjo, Eren Ozguven (FAMU-FSU Civil Engineering), and Arda Vanli (FAMU-FSU Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering) participated and made presentations at the recent Research Coordination Network (RCN) Workshop, held at Stony Brook, New York on April 19 and 20, 2018.

Funded by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program, Stony Brook University’s Department of Civil Engineering and School of Social Welfare hosted the workshop on the potential of S&CC to benefit the aging population, and anticipated challenges. The goal of the S&CC program is “to accelerate the creation of the scientific and engineering foundations that will enable smart and connected communities to bring about new levels of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, and overall quality of life.” The workshop brought together a diverse and interdisciplinary group of participants engaged in S&CC research or practical S&CC projects to: share their experiences of the challenges (e.g., digital divide and technology adoption) and solutions for integrating older adults into S&CC; develop problem statements and research needs; and foster collaborations that will advance S&CC research.

The workshop is the first activity of the NSF Research Coordination Network (RCN) lead by Stony Brook University, Florida A&M University–Florida State University College of Engineering, and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The objective of the RCN is to develop a collaborative, multidisciplinary and multinational research platform to study the relationship between S&CC and the built environment (e.g., varying urban densities), centered on creating S&CC that will ensure that the aging population experience the benefits of S&CC. (for more information: https://you.stonybrook.edu/agingpopulationrcn/).