UNLV faculty and graduate students Metehan Zorluoglu (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Dilara Kara-Zorluoglu (Curriculum and Instruction; Education), and Hasan Deniz (Teaching and Learning) helped elementary school students achieve recognition as Nevada State Winners in the Presidential AI Challenge, Elementary Category Track II (Technical/Implementation).

The students — Vasili Moseley, Tasheni Kamanga, and Joshua Scott — developed a Smart Parking System that uses AI and sensor technology to detect incorrect parking and improve efficiency. Selected from more than 2,500 nationwide submissions, their project is among 328 state-level winners and has advanced to the Regional Competition, with results pending.

The students’ success emerged from a six-week Saturday STEM course, Integrating Engineering, Robotics, and AI for STEM Learning, taught by Deniz, Kara-Zorluoglu, and Zorluoglu. The course introduced students to AI, computer science, and hands-on engineering through projects integrating sensors, microcontrollers, and LEDs. Interested students then participated in a four-week workshop with structured mentorship to refine their competition projects.

The curriculum was developed through a National Science Foundation grant titled Cultivating Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Linguistically Inclusive Integrated Elementary Curriculum via Educational Robotics (PI: Hasan Deniz, UNLV; Co-PIs: Erdogan Kaya, University of Texas at Arlington; Ezgi Yesilyurt, Utah State University; Refika Turgut, University of South Carolina Upstate).

This recognition underscores the impact of UNLV faculty mentorship in inspiring young learners to innovate in STEM and AI. The Saturday STEM Program, administered by the UNLV Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education, continues to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers through hands-on, project-based learning.