BPC-DP Harmony in Hacking: Orchestrating Cryptography with Elements of Music

This BPC demonstration project at California State University San Marcos will develop an innovative, replicable hackathon model called Harmony Hacks to tackle societal stereotypes of computing that deter high school girls from considering computing as their education and career paths. The project will engage more than one hundred high school girls over the 2-year duration.

Testimonies from the participants and lessons learned from the project will contribute to the knowledge base of how to broaden the participation of women in computing. The project will strengthen the partnership between the university and local schools serving diverse populations. The comprehensive documentation of the process, activities, and resources in the Harmony Hacks Organizer Guide will make the Harmony Hacks model easier to be adopted by universities and organizations interested in supporting young women in their pursuit of computing education and career paths.

The project will offer a virtual introduction workshop prior to two in-person hacking events, and virtual office hours in between. Participants will create music cryptography by imagining and playfully exploring different ways of encrypting socially responsible textual messages into music. They will build computer programs to implement these creative ideas.

Undergraduate students and professionals in music and computing will serve as mentors during the event to help participants develop a sense of belonging and feel their backgrounds, interests, and expertise are welcome, respected, and valued. Building on the complementary expertise of the project leadership team, the project will follow an iterative development process to ensure the soundness of Harmony Hacks in addressing high school girls’ computing perceptions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.