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The persistent under-representation of students from groups historically underrepresented in Computer Science and Engineering (CS&E) programs presents a significant challenge to achieving diversity within the field. A workforce with diverse experiences and perspectives is essential for creating innovations that serve all mem- bers of society. Existing documented eorts to broaden diversity in CS&E are time-intensive (multi-week programs) and do not quan- tify attraction to graduate studies. This paper aims to bridge that gap by presenting and evaluating a detailed design for a one-day workshop that includes presentations from research professors, hands-on cybersecurity demos, a panel discussion with current and recent graduate students in CS&E, and a participation survey. By engaging students historically under- represented in CS&E in the topic of graduate school, we aim to increase the diversity of students who apply to and attend graduate school, and ultimately enter the workforce through industry or through the professoriate, thus making the field more diverse and representative of varied perspectives. We held the aforementioned workshop at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in April 2024. The event successfully attracted members of historically under-represented groups. Our survey results show that 78% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that the event increased their interest in graduate school, 72% were more likely to seek further information about attending graduate school, and 67% of the participants had an increased interest in CS&E research. Our experience shows that one-day events focused on engaging students in the topic of graduate school in CS&E can positively impact attendee’s interest in graduate school and provide valuable information about the application process and graduate school experience. 

This paper analyzes Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and Amazon Alexa platforms, focusing on their integration with the Matter protocol. Matter is a connectivity standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) for the smart-home industry. By examining key features and qualitative metrics, this study aims to provide valuable insights for consumers and industry professionals in making informed decisions about smart-home devices. We conducted (from May to August 2024) a comparative analysis to explore how Google Home Nest, Apple HomePod Mini, Samsung SmartThings station, and Amazon Echo Dot platforms leverage the power of Matter to provide seamless and integrated smart-home experiences. 

In this article, we outline the challenges associated with the widespread adoption of smart devices in homes. These challenges are primarily driven by scale and device heterogeneity: a home may soon include dozens or hundreds of devices, across many device types, and may include multiple residents and other stakeholders. We develop a framework for reasoning about these challenges based on the deployment, operation, and decommissioning life cycle stages of smart devices within a smart home. We evaluate the challenges in each stage using the well- known CIA triad—Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. In addition, we highlight open research questions at each stage. Further, we evaluate solutions from Apple and Google using our framework and find notable shortcomings in these products. Finally, we sketch some preliminary thoughts on a solution for the smart home of the near future. 

Smart homes are gaining popularity due to their convenience and efficiency, both of which come at the expense of increased complexity of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Due to the number and heterogeneity of IoT devices, technologically inexperienced or time-burdened residents are unlikely to manage the setup and maintenance of IoT apps and devices. We highlight the need for a "HandyTech": a technically skilled contractor who can set up, repair, debug, monitor, and troubleshoot home IoT systems. In this paper, we consider the potential privacy challenges posed by the HandyTech, who has the ability to access IoT devices and private data. We do so in the context of single and multi-user smart homes, including rental units, condominiums, and temporary guests or workers. We examine the privacy harms that can arise when a HandyTech has legitimate access to information, but uses it in unintended ways. By providing insights for the development of privacy control policies and measures in-home IoT environments in the presence of the HandyTech, we capture the privacy concerns raised by other visitors to the home, including temporary residents, part-time workers, etc. This helps lay a foundation for the broad set of privacy concerns raised by home IoT systems. 

As the integration of smart devices into our daily environment accelerates, the vision of a fully integrated smart home is becoming more achievable through standards such as the Matter protocol. In response, this research paper explores the use of Matter in addressing the heterogeneity and interoperability problems of smart homes. We built a testbed and introduce a network utility device, designed to sniff network traffic and provide a wireless access point within IoT networks. This paper also presents the experience of students using the testbed in an academic scenario.