December 19, 2022
Recent winning entries in the Art of Science Competition.
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
With winter break fast approaching, what better time to start thinking about your entries for our annual Art of Science Competition?
From January 1 through March 19, currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff can use this online form to submit photographs, illustrations, visualizations, renderings, or posters showing an artistic representation of science, technology, engineering, math, and sustainability themes. Creativity and uniqueness are favored in the judging, as well as the ability of artists to convey the meaning of their work in terms understandable to a general audience.
Entries should be high resolution jpegs (300 dpi, at least 3,000 pixels wide on the longest edge). Cash prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 will be awarded to winning student entries. All entries will be eligible for a People’s Choice Award of $250. For inquiries, contact Michelle Dunn and the Art of Science team at artofsciencecontest@gmail.com.
Click here to learn about last year’s winning entries.
CONGRATULATIONS
Among the projects completed this semester in ME 204: Mechanical Design is this 70-piece puzzle showing the James Webb space telescope.
Each fall seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering take a course on designing and building prototype devices as a precursor for the capstone projects they will complete in the spring.
As part of the course, Chris Muir, professor of mechanical engineering, asks his students to work together to create a puzzle of 70 to 75 pieces, using highest quality Baltic birch plywood. The puzzle often replicates an iconic University-related image (past works have included the crown above Rush Rhees Library and women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony.) Teamwork is emphasized. If all the pieces fit properly, the entire class receives credit. “If even one piece doesn’t fit, everyone is affected, just as in a team,” Chris says.
This fall the students created a puzzle showing the James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched last December. Several Hajim School faculty, students, and alumni contributed to the Webb project. Watch this stop motion video of the puzzle design coming together. Chris is hoping alumni who worked on the Webb can eventually drop by to sign the puzzle.
As part of the same class, students also competed in teams to see who could construct the most efficient balsa wood structure. They then took turns “walking a plank” in Rettner Hall to determine which structure could survive the most force before snapping to pieces. Watch what happened, in real time….and slow motion.
Congratulations to all the students who worked on these projects!
Congratulations as well to the winners of this year’s UR Next Gen challenge. They are:
- Abdullah Abuomar ’22 of biomedical engineering, now a master’s student in our CMTI medical device master’s program.
- Qinqin Xiao, a Warner School doctoral student with an advanced certificate in data science.
- Wuxiucheng Wang, an electrical engineering PhD student advised by Hui Wu.
- Tianyi Wang ’26 of computer science.
The one-day think tank, sponsored by the MS in Technical Entrepreneurship and Management Program and the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, posed a real industry challenge. The students worked with company partner D3 Engineering to find an automated solution that minimizes setup and take down times when focusing camera lens variants without sacrificing consistency and quality.
THE VALUE OF AN INTERNSHIP
Recent graduate Shoham Shitrit ’22, a computer science major, can testify to the value of an internship. Shoham spent the summer before his senior year at Microsoft in Seattle.
“My internship was extremely valuable to me, both from skills gained and learning what it’s really like to be a software engineer—the good, the bad, and the ugly,” he says. “I learned what it takes to write code that affects millions as well as communicating with teammates about issues and achievements.” Best of all, he accepted a full-time position on Microsoft’s content management system team after graduating.
A good way to start your search for internships is to speak with an advisor at the Gwen M. Greene Center for Career Education and Connections, which funded summer internships for 92 University undergraduates this past summer. Sophie Sweet ’24, a chemical engineering major, interned in Shepherd, Montana at Floating Island International, which makes floating islands created from recycled materials. Sophie’s jobs ranged from property stewardship and writing grant proposals, to research on new nanobubble technology and stocking fish. “It’s a small business, so I got to do a lot while I was there,” Sophie says. “My internship forced me to be resourceful and adaptive because I had to work with what was on the property.”
Shoham says he was turned down for every internship he applied for except the one at Microsoft. “The process can be arduous, but be persistent,” he says. “No matter how many companies say ‘no,’ remember you only need one company to say ‘yes.’’’ Learn more.
Q&A WITH KATIE SCHWERTZ
A recent Senior Member Insights Q&A in Optics and Photonics News features Institute of Optics alumna Katie Schwertz ‘08, a design engineering manager at Edmund Optics. Katie offers lots of interesting insights. For example, she talks about the importance of good communication, problem-solving, and “a drive to understand the ‘why’ of things” for those interested in a career in engineering. “Early in your career . . . say yes to every opportunity!” she adds. “Even seemingly small opportunities or commitments can lead to great connections. It can also help you figure out things you prefer not to do in your career, which is an important insight.” Learn more about Katie’s accomplishments here.
REMINDER TO STUDENTS
We’re getting great news from some undergraduate and master’s students that they have already accepted a job or admissions offer for next year. If you’ve confirmed your plans for after graduation, we would love to hear from you! Please take 5 minutes to let us know what your current plans are after graduation by completing the Career Outcomes Survey.
If you haven’t quite figured out what’s happening after May, that’s okay too. Feel free to complete the survey and pick “still looking,” and we’ll connect you to someone who can help in your final semester!
Why report your plans?
- It helps others understand who our top employers and grad school programs are.
- It assists in the fight for pay equity by showing all students what starting salaries may look like in your field.
- You will be entered to win a $250 gift card from Amazon.
To submit just go to https://tinyurl.com/4yv6j8ra
GREATER FREEDOM FOR MUSICIANS
There is a growing demand for digital music content, including music for film, television, games, and advertising, as well as the traditional recorded music market. AI-powered tools have the potential to enable musicians to create digital music products on their own and at a very low cost. By eliminating the dependence of musicians on centralized music production, they will achieve greater creative freedom and reach larger audiences while increasing their chances of making a living with their art.
To help musicians realize this potential, a team led by Rafaella Borasi at the Warner School including Zhiyao Duan, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will collaborate on creating an open-access framework enabling musicians and AI researchers to develop new music production solutions on a free, open-source digital audio workstation. They will also provide new learning opportunities for musicians to use technology better.
This collaboration, which also involves faculty at our Eastman School of Music, our School of Arts and Sciences, and from Northwestern University, is funded with a $1.8 million NSF Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier grant. This is an exciting example of an interdisciplinary, multi-site collaboration that showcases the wide range of research expertise we can leverage at our University. Learn more.
I wish all of you a safe and enjoyable holiday season and a happy New Year! The next issue of Hajim Highlights will be January 9.
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
