CollabNext: Visualizing HBCU Research & Mentorship Networks

SUMMARY: Map researchers (who) to their research topics (what) and institutional affiliations (where), with a focus on HBCUs and emerging research institutions. Enable NY STEP students and others to find mentors among HBCU professors based on desired research topics. Proto-OKN Project: CollabNext Status: Abandoned; data may be used but no active support. NSF PI: Lew Lefton Research Lab: Georgia Tech CollabNext Summary: CollabNext is a prototype knowledge graph illuminating diversity in science. It focuses on underrepresented contributors and research collaborations between Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Fisk University, Texas Southern University, and University at Buffalo. It democratizes access to research data and supports new collaborations. Hackathon Challenge: 1. Challenge Question: Can you map out who is working on what, and where? Identify researchers, research topics, and their affiliated institutions. 2. Challenge Definition: Given a small list of researchers (<500), create a visualization showing institutional affiliations and research topics. This should be part of a web application. 3. Focus: Promote diverse researchers, research projects/publications, and HBCU research institutes. Example Use Case: * Assemble a panel discussion and ensure diversity by using CollabNext to identify researchers. Current System (Alpha Version): * Website: CollabNext.io * Backend: JS, now Flask & Python * Frontend: React.js * Data APIs being built * Queries: SPARQL and SQL * Visualization: D3.js * Partner: Metaphact (manages semOpenAlex for Georgia Tech) Other Use Cases: * Find experts in a specific technology or research area beyond personal networks * Verify publications and contributions for universities and postdocs * Sort researchers by geolocation or other criteria to avoid citation bias Data Source: * OpenAlex (free, public dataset) * Semantic OpenAlex (RDF triples) * Preliminary code base: GitHub – OKN-CollabNext Skills Needed for Next-Stage Architecture: * Python, JSON, RDF * Knowledge Graph expertise * SQL, NoSQL * Frontend development and UI/UX Market Needs / User Stories: * Principal Investigator: Identify and contact colleagues at HBCUs and MSIs with relevant expertise. * Administrator: Understand faculty research capabilities to facilitate partnerships. * University Leadership: Identify successful research collaborations for strategic planning. * Conference Organizer: Generate live subgraphs of attendees’ people, topics, and institutions to visualize potential collaborations. Example Visualization Problem: * Filter researchers by location and research area for panels or collaboration. Teams & Mentors: Subteams could include frontend, backend, and data science. Skills helpful: React.js, UI/UX, CSS, Figma, Python, Java, Spring Boot, SQL, SPARQL, APIs, data cleaning, and data management. Core requirement: willingness to learn, collaborate, and communicate effectively. Beneficiaries: CollabNext (Proto-OKN Theme 1 project) NSF HBCU researchers Open-source community Sponsors: NSF