This summer, five Lehman College students are expanding their research experience through hands-on opportunities across the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) partner network. Four students—Randy Amparo, Dylan Heslop, Mahfoudh Senhoury, and Vedant Sundriyal—are participating in Florida Atlantic University’s I-SENSE Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Boca Raton. Meanwhile, Mohammed Chowdhury is conducting research at Columbia University through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program.
At FAU, the I-SENSE REU is an intensive nine-week program that brings undergraduate researchers into projects that span many of the topics we research here at CS3 — such as smart systems, infrastructure, and public space technology. Participants work closely with faculty and graduate student mentors while building research skills, professional networks, and practical experience in real-world research settings. We are proud to feature the students that represent Lehman College through CS3’s REU program at FAU.
Dylan Heslop
Dylan Heslop, a Computer Science student at Lehman College, is joining the I-SENSE REU’s Digital Storytelling project under the mentorship of Dr. Jason Hallstrom. This project explores how generative AI can transform complex sensing data into public-facing narratives that make urban activity easier for residents to understand.
Dylan brings strong software development experience to the program. On his LinkedIn, he highlights his experience in full-stack development, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and computer science tutoring, with familiarity in tools such as React, TypeScript, Vite, and Tailwind CSS.
Through the Digital Storytelling project, Dylan will contribute to research focused on translating data from the West Palm Beach streetscape testbed into accessible written and visual summaries. Rather than presenting community members with only charts, dashboards, and technical visualizations, the project explores how AI can help communicate what is happening in public spaces in more engaging, understandable ways.
Randy Amparo
Randy Amparo, a Lehman College student majoring in Computer Information Systems, is participating in the Digital Twins for Smart Streetscapes project under the mentorship of Dr. Jinwoo Jang. Randy’s background combines technical study and campus engagement. He was recently featured in a Lehman College profile that notes his experience as a student mentor, supporting peers as they navigate the college experience.
Randy is working alongside fellow CUNY Lehman students Mahfoudh Senhoury, and Vedant Sundriyal on The Digital Twins for Smart Streetscapes project. They are working on developing AI-enabled, hyperlocal digital twins that can help researchers understand how people interact with streets, mobility systems, infrastructure, and surrounding urban environments. By bringing together different forms of sensor data, the research team is working to model micro-mobility, traffic, air quality, and other contextual features of city life.
Mahfoudh Senhoury
Mahfoudh Senhoury is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Lehman College and joins Randy and Vedant on the Digital Twins for Smart Streetscapes research team.
Outside of the REU experience, Mahfoudh has worked as a Computer Science Tutor and Computer Aid at Lehman College, and has also participated in real-world consulting work as an IgniteU Fellow with the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation. Mahfoudh’s combination of technical learning, tutoring, and applied consulting is especially well suited to the collaborative nature of the Digital Twins project.
Vedant Sundriyal
Vedant Sundriyal is a Computer Science student at Lehman College participating in the Digital Twins for Smart Streetscapes project at FAU. He also has professional experience with Hartsdale Pharmacy and Surgical, providing an additional perspective on how technology impacts real-world business objectives.
At I-SENSE, Vedant will work alongside fellow Lehman students Randy Amparo and Mahfoudh Senhoury, as well as peers from across the country, on the previously mentioned Digital Twin research led by Dr. Jinwoo Jang.
Mohammed Chowdhury
At Columbia University, Mohammed Chowdhury is participating in Columbia Engineering’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program, where he is working with faculty mentor Professor Xiaofan “Fred” Jiang and graduate student mentor Emily Bejerano. SURE is a 10-week summer research program that provides undergraduate students with faculty and graduate-student mentorship, laboratory research experience, professional-development programming, and opportunities to present their work at a summer research symposium.
Mohammed is a Computer Science student at Lehman College with interests in software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science.
His placement in Columbia’s SURE Program builds on an already promising research trajectory. Mohammed previously participated in the I-SENSE REU at FAU and recently presented the paper, “Gamifying the Bus Stop: Rock–Paper–Scissors with an AI Hand Gesture Recognition System,” at an ACM conference. The project began during the 2025 I-SENSE REU in collaboration with fellow Lehman student Briana Deloatch.
This year’s Lehman College cohort reflects the breadth of talent emerging across CS3’s academic partner network. Each student is a shining representation of the exceptional student body at Lehman College, and they represent their school well. CS3 is proud to celebrate Randy, Dylan, Mahfoudh, Vedant, and Mohammed as they take this next step in their academic and professional journeys!