Information Sciences and Technology

IST student aims to improve airport experience for travelers with disabilities

Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

(Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories highlighting College of Information Sciences and Technology students and their summer internships and professional development experiences). 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology student Veronica Jenkins recently worked with real-world data to conceptualize improvements in airport operations for individuals with disabilities. Her experience was possible through her virtual participation in the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) Undergraduate Summer Experience Quantitative Analytics (SEQAL) at Arizona State University this summer. 

As part of the program, Jenkins participated in the SEQAL Design Challenge. She worked with two teammates from the University of Central Florida to respond to the challenge’s prompt of developing a way that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could improve the airport experience.  

The team’s idea, which won first place in the challenge, was to create a feature on the TSA application through which users could request services from TSA Cares — a service that provides travelers with disabilities, medical conditions and other special circumstances with assistance during the screening process. Currently, TSA Cares is only available via a helpline. 

“Adding this new functionality within the TSA app not only creates an alternative and likely easier way for people to request TSA services, it also could allow for easy data collection to gauge utilization of these services and flyer satisfaction, receive suggestions and more,” said Jenkins, a rising second-year student studying data sciences. 

Jenkins’ team also suggested non-technical improvements, such as enhancing TSA’s annual education program for travel security officers on ways to best assist travelers with disabilities.  

“TSA Contact Center records from October 2018 through May 2019 indicated that there were over 1,800 complaints of disability-based discrimination,” said Jenkins. “While efforts have been made to improve the airport experience for those with different abilities, there is much more to be done.” 

In its third year, CAOE SEQAL is a highly competitive STEM-based program that combines significant data analytics training and real-world problem solving. The four-week experience engages students in live expert-led workshops and group interactive problem solving and data processes to address real-world challenges faced by the Department of Hometown Security. Jenkins was one of 21 students from nine institutions selected for the 2022 program.  

“As a young professional, I feel gaining practical experience is important in improving skills and gaining more confidence for future studies and professional roles,” said Jenkins. “Being in SEQAL has motivated me in continuing my studies and in narrowing my application focus within my data sciences major. SEQAL showed me that I can continue to make my passions part of my technical education through my application focus and coursework.” 

Last Updated August 1, 2022