Volunteering to help Plantlanta, a local nonprofit that promotes food and environmental justice in urban communities may soon be a lot easier thanks to a team of Georgia Tech computer science majors.

The team of four earned a first-place prize in the recent Fall CS Junior Capstone Design course demonstration expo for the web and mobile apps they developed to encourage people to volunteer for Plantlanta projects.

Held in the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, the expo is the culmination of yearlong software design projects for 38 teams of undergraduate CS or Computational Media students. Each team worked with a client from campus, the private sector, or the local community to find computing solutions to existing societal challenges.

“These projects unfold as students apply the development and design skills they have learned throughout their studies at Georgia Tech to develop a software solution to real-world problems,” said Amanda Girard, a College of Computing instructor co-teaching the CS Junior Capstone Design course.

As each project progresses, Girard says that the clients served as professional advisors, guiding the students toward the realization of their teams’ vision.

“As they develop their software solutions, students also develop skills beyond the classroom in professional and technical communication that is appropriate for the software industry.”

Organized by the College’s Office of Outreach, Enrollment, and Community, the expo included judges and prize participation from some of the College’s corporate affiliate partners including Airbnb, Google, NCR, State Farm, Stryker, and Walmart. First prize and runner-ups were selected for each of two sections of the CS Junior Capstone Design course.

More information about all of the participating teams in the Fall 2019 CS Junior Capstone Design expo is available.

Session 1

First Prize: Team Eye Tracking

Runner up: Team Integrated Informed Consent

Session 2

First Prize: Team Plantlanta Volunteering

Runner up: Team StreamViz