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05/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2024 14:43

Cloud Computing Platform CloudWeaver Wins at Spring 2024 Spark! Demo Day

Cloud Computing Platform CloudWeaver Wins at Spring 2024 Spark! Demo Day

Project was one of nearly 100 student presentations on display at BU's semiannual Experiential Learning Expo

Created by Max Karambelas (ENG'24, CDS'24) (from left), George Trammell (CDS'24), Luis Mavarez (CAS'24), Andrea Rojas Doupovec (CFA'25, CAS'25), and Jimin Park (CAS'24) (not pictured), CloudWeaver took home the judges' choice award at the spring 2024 Spark! Demo Day competition. Photo courtesy of BU Spark!

Science & Technology

Cloud Computing Platform CloudWeaver Wins at Spring 2024 Spark! Demo Day

Project was one of nearly 100 student presentations on display at BU's semiannual Experiential Learning Expo

May 8, 2024
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Imagine that you are a student at Boston University. You've made a name for yourself around campus for the handmade crafts you create from your dorm room. Your wares have gotten so popular in fact, that you consider selling them online-a side hustle that might just bring in some extra dough for better supplies (and maybe a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant).

You could list your crafts on existing sites such as Etsy or Amazon, but these platforms take a cut of your profits. Plus, you've taken a computer science class or two, so you know a bit about building a rudimentary website. But to get beyond the basics requires access to more powerful servers, not to mention a certain finesse that you just haven't learned, or haven't wanted to learn, yet.

Enter: CloudWeaver. The project would connect would-be website builders with easy to navigate, cloud-based computing services. CloudWeaver would help users generate code to build out their own websites and connect users with helpful tools to navigate the maze-like process.

Created by Max Karambelas (ENG'24, CDS'24), George Trammell (CDS'24), Luis Mavarez (CAS'24), Jimin Park (CAS'24), and Andrea Rojas Doupovec (CFA'25, CAS'25), CloudWeaver took home the judges' choice award at the spring 2024 BU Spark! Demo Day competition on May 2.

"It meant a lot to win," says Karambelas. "It was rewarding to see that the work I and my team put into this really came to fruition." He says the team is planning to present their project, which is still in development, at DevConf.US 2024, a professional technology conference being held at the University in August.

"This has been such a great learning experience," he says, "not only trying to solve a real problem that my friends and I have encountered, but also getting to experiment with the technology to make it possible."

Students behind the Korean language learning app Hada, presenting their project at the spring 2024 Spark! Demo Day.

In addition to the judges' choice award, Demo Day presenters competed for an audience choice award. This year, that award went to the team behind chatsqrd, a web application designed to enhance children's educational experience with an interactive AI component. The chatsqrd team: Milo (Min Sung) Park (CAS'25), Jiehoon Lee (Sargent'25, CAS'25), Thanh Huynh (CAS'25), and Emmeline Chung (CAS'24).

"BU Spark! Demo Day is always so refreshing, energizing, and inspiring," says Azer Bestavros, BU associate provost for computing and data sciences, a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, and a College of Arts & Sciences professor of computer science.

"It speaks volumes to the creativity of our students as they put their tech skills to work on real-world problems, whether these problems are ones that they encountered and feel motivated to solve, or ones that are presented to them from our partners in industry or the public sector," Bestavros says. "There is nothing more empowering to our students than the realization that they possess what it takes to change the world. Experiential learning is all about empowerment and impact. CDS is so lucky to have the BU Spark! team deliver on this promise year in and year out."

Spark! Demo Day, the twice-annual showcase of innovation by BU Spark! students, was part of the larger Experiential Learning Expo, also held May 2. Taking over two floors of the Center for Computing & Data Sciences, the expo featured more than 100 student projects undertaken in conjunction with the University's Cross-College Challenge (XCC) and the Learning Assistant Program, which trains undergraduates to be Learning Assistants. The training consists of weekly preparation sessions with faculty and a pedagogy course so they can facilitate discussions among groups of students in a variety of classroom settings that encourage active engagement.

More than 100 student presentations filled the first two floors of the Center for Computing & Data Sciences with an exciting buzz for the spring 2024 Experiential Learning Expo.

The Cross-College Challenge is the signature project-based experience of the BU Hub general education program, open to juniors and seniors from all the University's undergraduate schools and colleges. The Learning Assistant Program gives students an opportunity to redesign a small aspectof the course they teach. Students in the program combine the theory they learned throughout the semester with their in-class experiential practice of teaching.

Students from all three programs presented projects at the expo that highlighted a semester's worth of learning and experience, and CDS was buzzing with the results. The projects covered a wide range of issues-one team created a data visualization that explored the Boston area's commuter rail usage; another created an app that pulls together various education platforms into one easy interface; yet another designed a machine-learning algorithm that would spot evidence of human trafficking in photos.

As for Karambelas, the experience was one that he hopes will launch him forward in a career soon. "It absolutely embodies the kind of work I want to do," he says. And, along the way, he's learned that it's OK not to have all the answers right away. "What we learned was that if you just stick with it and have the final goal in mind, you can make mistakes along the way. You can learn from those failures to make a better product in the end."

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  • Molly Callahan

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    Molly Callahan began her career at a small, family-owned newspaper where the newsroom housed computers that used floppy disks. Since then, her work has been picked up by the Associated Press and recognized by the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2016, she moved into a communications role at Northeastern University as part of its News@Northeastern reporting team. When she's not writing, Molly can be found rock climbing, biking around the city, or hanging out with her fiancée, Morgan, and their cat, Junie B. Jones. Profile

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