SUMMIT CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
THE DEAN’S VIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 BY THE NUMBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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SUMMIT • Spring 2014 • CON T EN TS
DISCOVER CEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Driving a clean, green student-designed race car; how IBM Fellow and CEMS adjunct John Cohn is pushing engineering’s fun quotient. AN AMAZING SPACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Each summer, CEMS plays host to dozens of top Vermont students in engineering and math-focused Governor’s Institutes programs. FACULTY SPOTLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 From Josh Bongard’s evolutionary robotics to Sheila Weaver’s emphasis on stats and service learning, CEMS faculty and staff are making a difference. A PASSION FOR RESEARCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A program created by Richard Barrett ’66 is creating a legacy of innovative undergraduate research. DOW JONES OF HAPPINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 How the Complex Systems Center at CEMS is tracking Twitter to measure the world’s happiness. BREWING INTERNSHIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 With Burlington’s thriving tech scene and CEMS’ commitment to career development, students are finding rewarding summer roles. THE CAPSTONE CHALLENGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 How engineering seniors are helping solve problems for the likes of Burton Snowboards to the town of Essex. Q&A: CREATIVE SOLUTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Dean Luis Garcia on why an engineering education is about ‘learning how to learn.’
University of Vermont
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THE DEAN’S VIEW Dear Alumni and Friends of CEMS, I am honored to open this first edition of SUMMIT with a view into what I’ve learned since arriving at UVM eight months ago. We have outstanding students, faculty, staff and programs and a bright future ahead. As many of you know, CEMS has a unique structure that comprises a School of Engineering, a Department of Computer Science and a Department of Mathematics & Statistics. What you may not know is the rich array of signature areas within scholarship, education and service that connects us across the campus, around the state and beyond. In this inaugural edition of SUMMIT, you will get glimpses of the service learning and senior Capstone projects that connect our students to the community; you will read about how undergraduate research and internship opportunities are empowering students and helping them integrate career development within the college experience; and you will learn how our faculty’s research is informing and guiding society. CEMS continues to grow in importance to the University and the state. In 2012, a commission appointed by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recommended UVM significantly increase its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The leadership at UVM has responded. Last year, UVM appointed David Rosowsky as Provost, hiring him from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he served as dean of the nation’s oldest school of engineering. Under his and President Tom Sullivan’s leadership, UVM is embarking on its largest capital project ever: a new STEM building complex (including a partial renovation of Votey), which will help CEMS to attract the best faculty and students for the future. This investment is a demonstration of faith that CEMS is a place where solutions to great challenges will originate. CEMS has always been known for its outstanding and caring teachers. I am pleased to highlight CEMS faculty who recently received the prestigious George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award Winners. Richard Foote of the Mathematics and Statistics Department was awarded the prize last year, while this year Donna Rizzo of the School of Engineering was given the accolade. They, along with our generous alumni, parents and friends, are helping to solidify the future of CEMS. Your gifts have a profound impact on the college, allowing us to attract top caliber students and faculty, and providing for new programs and the forthcoming STEM building project. I want to personally thank all of our alumni, parents and friends who give generously to CEMS. When considering your giving this year, I would strongly encourage you to add or grow your support for our vital mission of educating the next generation of engineers and scientists. Through this newsletter I’ll be sharing our innovations and progress. Please check in and use this newsletter as an opportunity to stay connected. Our work together in the years ahead will build a foundation of growth and vitality. Sincerely, Luis Garcia Dean, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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BY THE NUMBERS
55
0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds
The number of undergraduate students at
The acceleration goal for the sleek electric car cre-
CEMS who have benefitted from the Barrett
ated by the student-run Alternative Energy Racing
Scholarship program (page 9). Started by suc-
Organization (see pages 3-4). Last year, the car was
cessful entrepreneur Richard Barrett ’66 a
measured at 5.6 seconds during the Formula
decade ago, the program enables CEMS students to work on summer research projects with faculty mentors.
:) = 7.70 :( = 2.36
The happiness rating for emoticons as tracked by the Vermont Complex Systems Center at CEMS (pages 13-14). The group has ratings for more than 10,000 words in 10 languages from English to Russian. These ratings are used to Hybrid International Competition, as fast as many high-performance sports cars, notes AERO vice president Braedon Lohe ’15.
4-1=3
An autonomous robot designed by Josh Bongard (page 7), associate professor of computer science, starts out with four legs. When it loses one of them, the robot uses AI methods developed by Bongard and his students to recover from its injury and continue on
measure the overall happiness of large texts, from State of the Union addresses to Twitter feeds.
~15 minutes
The battery limit for flying robots designed by a team of CEMS engineering and computer science students for their senior design project (page 17). The drones are designed “to receive the GPS location of your phone and follow you and film you” as you ski down a mountain, for instance, notes Aaron Morton ’14.
with its task.
University of Vermont
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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A clean, green speed machine Imagine flooring the pedal and blasting to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds – as fast as a Porsche or Audi – all while your car remains almost silent. That’s the experience of driving the sleek electric racing vehicle created by the CEMS Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO), a student-run club. The award-winning car is “quiet enough that we can’t expect people to hear us and move out of our way when we’re driving on campus,” notes AERO vice president Braedon Lohe ‘15. Each year, the students are challenged to rebuild with new performance or technology goals in mind, says Jeff Frolik, associate professor of electrical engineering and the club’s advisor. Aside from the fun of zipping around in the car, the students are “working with technologies that will allow us to reduce energy use,” Frolik adds.
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SUMMIT Hooping lessons Take a look at the expression on the girl’s face as she twirls the hulahoop around her waist: she’s both spellbound and engaged as her movements create shifting swirls of color from the computer-controlled LED lights inside. IBM Fellow and UVM adjunct professor Dr. John Cohn -- the hoop’s creator -- says the device hits upon that sweet spot where technology and fun intersect. “That electronics can allow a visual or spiritual kind of thing like that turns me on,” he says. In his work teaching and mentoring CEMS students, Cohn urges them to take chances, such as working with artists and non-engineers, and to add similar elements of play into their work. “You are strengthened by interacting with people and disciplines outside of your own,” he says. “It makes you a better engineer.”
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Each summer, CEMS hosts top Vermont high-school students at Governor’s Institutes programs By Aimee Picchi On a sunny June evening last summer, 32 Vermont high school students– attendees at the Governor’s Institute in Mathematical Sciences -- dashed across University of Vermont’s campus in a fast-paced race. They were part of the “Math Amazing Race,” a riff on the CBS reality show where teams are given clues that take them around the world, but these students relied on cryptography, geometry and knowledge of the UVM campus to gain an edge. “Some of the problems were challenging, but it was really fun,” says Burlington High School junior Eileen Kocherlakota, who attended the math summer session at UVM’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Just as “The Amazing Race” pushes contestants into new experiences, CEMS faculty and staff each summer create an intellectual expedition into math and engineering topics for top Vermont high school students. At the heart of the math program is a series of lectures that last year included a class on evolutionary robotics from associate professor Josh Bongard, and another from assistant professor Greg
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AN AMAZING SPACE
Warrington on how juggling reveals the mathematical underpinnings of probability. “Our goal is to expose them to different types of math,” notes CEMS senior lecturer Sheila Weaver, who co-directs the math program with professor Jeff Dinitz. CEMS also hosts an engineering-focused Governor’s Institute, which this summer will be led by Andrea Pearce, a lecturer in the School of Engineering. Its 80 or so students study topics ranging from robotics to renewable energy. Both programs empower math- and science-focused Vermont students by introducing them to collegiate life, notes Karen Taylor Mitchell, executive director of the Governor’s Institutes. She notes, “It gets students comfortable with the mystery of being on a college campus.” While the institutes serve as a powerful outreach tool for UVM, the biggest impact comes from helping students connect with other like-minded teens, as well as allowing them to envision how to pursue their math and science passions, Dinitz notes. Some will end up applying to UVM, something that Kocherlakota says is on her agenda. Dinitz notes, “They may be sitting there alone in their little Vermont schools, so coming to UVM for a week and seeing highlevel kids is an eye-opener for them.” University of Vermont
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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT (R)EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH Robotics researcher Josh Bongard says he likes to take his students to pay homage at educational reformer John Dewey’s grave, tucked next to Ira Allen Chapel. While it might seem like an unusual pilgrimage for a computer science professor, there’s a link between Dewey’s educational philosophy and his own research. Bongard, who was awarded the CEMS 2013 Excellence in Research award by Dean Luis Garcia, notes, “Dewey observed that a young child learns by pushing against the world and seeing how the world reacts.” He adds, “What if, instead of a child, it was a robot exploring its limits? How complex does it need to be?” That question – of how robotic intelligence evolves -- has inspired Bongard’s research into resilient machines, such as one four-legged robot that adjusts and continues a task after losing one of its legs, as well as AI-generated creatures that change through virtual evolution. Bongard, who was a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2011, notes his research is also branching into crowdsourcing as a way to investigate how groups can perform intelligent tasks.
STATS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Senior lecturer Sheila Weaver recalls an evening when her students gathered at the
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Salvation Army’s Friendly Kitchen. While the students helped dish out dinner, they were also there on a social justice mission: to carry out a survey on behalf of the nonprofit Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. “The students asked about food security, finding out how often the patrons had access to local or organic fruits and vegetables,” recalls Weaver, who was awarded the CEMS 2013 Excellence in Service award for her focus on service learning. Their findings? “The students found the patrons really wanted to eat local, but it was too expensive.” By incorporating community-service projects into 20 courses over the past few years, Weaver has taught dozens of students that statistics is more than learning regression analysis in a classroom. Weaver, who was
awarded the Kroepsch-Maurice award for excellence in teaching in 2002, says she’s now in the early stages of developing a class devoted to statistics and social justice. By giving assignments that aid nonprofits and underserved populations, her students “learn statistics skills while helping a community, which really excites them,” she notes.
Mary Dunlop thinks big and works small.
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BIG PROBLEMS, TINY SUBJECTS
In the classroom, Dunlop goes slightly more macro, using Lego Mindstorms to teach students how to design and implement feedback control algorithms. She notes, “In general, I work hard to be rigorous about teaching mathematics and engineering methods, while giving examples that students can relate to.” A WELCOME MATH Senior lecturer Joseph Kudrle often finds his classes – such as Fundamentals of Calculus 1 – include some students who doubt their math aptitude. Kudrle (which he tells his students is an old Czech name pronounced “Cudderly”) says he often hears complaints such as “It’s always been hard.” He adds, “They don’t realize what their own potential is. Often, they’re very successful at it.”
Dunlop, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering and the recipient of the CEMS 2013 Outstanding Junior Faculty Performance award, investigates how microorganisms respond to changes in their environment, research that holds promise for applications ranging from improved biofuel production to minimizing the danger from antibiotic resistance. With her team of graduate and undergraduate students, Dunlop’s lab considers how to create conditions that can help beneficial organisms evolve. Take biofuel production: While engineered microorganisms are able to break down sugars from biomass, there’s a Catch-22 involved. The resulting biofuel – a promising source of alternative energy – is often toxic to those same microorganisms. Her work has earned her a prestigious CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation and an Early Career Award from the Department of Energy.
His ability to make math welcoming earned Kudrle the CEMS 2013 Excellence in Teaching award. Kudrle aims to make mathematics more engaging for students by introducing some of his personal passions, including motorcycles and the longrunning animated TV show “The Simpsons,” into lectures. But one key to reaching students, Kudrle finds, is demonstrating how math applies to daily life. “You might not use calculus in everyday life, but you use basic mathematics. You can relate that into calculus,” Kudrle says. Inspiring a love of math in young students is another project for Kudrle, who serves as Vermont’s northwest regional coordinator for MATHCOUNTS, a national middle school competitive mathematics program. University of Vermont
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A PASSION FOR RESEARCH
breeding barn roof to developing standards
How Richard Barrett ’66 supports CEMS undergraduates to pursue real-world problems
In Poniz’ case, he wanted to know if
By Matt Sutkoski
changing the physical properties or environment of a sort of scaffolding that
Here’s a mouthful for you: “The StructureFunction Relationship of Methacrylated Hyaluronan Hyrdogels for Tissue Regeneration.”
cells grow on might offer helpful new tools for regenerating the type of damaged tissue found in the cartilage of arthritis patients. The answer seems to be yes. “I saw how
Behind the tongue twister is a big goal: to find new
changing the parameters changes the physical properties,” Poniz says. “This technique might lead to better treatment for people with arthritis.”
techniques for
And that’s part of the point of the Barrett
repairing
Scholarships.
damaged tissue, something that could help the 53 million Americans suffering from arthritis. The study is the work of University of Vermont student Alex Poniz ‘14, under the guidance of Dr. Rachael Oldinski. Poniz -- and arthritis sufferers everywhere -- have the Barrett Scholarships to thank for this. Each year, between four to eight undergraduates at the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences are awarded Barrett Scholarships, which enable them to spend their summers researching topics ranging from how heavy snows might harm Shelburne Farms’
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for measuring nano-scale particulates.
CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Richard Barrett ‘66, who studied mechanical engineering at UVM, created the scholarship program a decade ago with the goal of inspiring CEMS undergraduates to follow their research passions. In one important respect, the Barrett Scholarship and Poniz’ research into cell scaffolding have the same purpose. Much as the molecular scaffolding creates an environment that helps tissue grow better, the Barrett Scholarships create an environment that encourages student researchers -- and their subsequent careers – to thrive.
‘ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES’ A personal experience with research during a summer internship gave Barrett that insight. Between his junior and senior year at UVM, in the summer of 1965, Barrett secured an internship at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, where he was put to
working on a restroom ventilation system. “That summer was one of the best experiences of my career,” Barrett said in a 2008 interview. “It gave me the opportunity to see what engineering was all about.” As Barrett’s own career blossomed – he founded vendor lease company Leasetec Corporation in 1979 and sold it to KeyCorp two decades later – he turned his attention to how he might help UVM students,
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work on a variety of projects including
INSPIRING FUTURE RESEARCH The impact of the Barrett Scholarships goes well beyond the benefits to UVM students. With her Barrett Scholarship, Anna Nadler ‘14 studied tailpipe emissions, specifically, whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s methods of measuring the emissions are accurate. It turns out Nadler’s research showed those methods might not be, given changes in automotive technology, such as hybrid cars that have come on the market since the EPA last
leading to the creation of the Barrett Scholarships program. During job interviews, students often face questions about academics and work experience, says Magdalena Paul, the director of the Barrett Foundation, which administers the scholarships. But Barrett Scholarship winners are able to shift the conversation to their research expertise. “The employer gets to see this enormous passion,” Paul notes. CEMS faculty members are essential to creating a favorable research environment for Barrett Scholarship winners. “All the students have terrific working relationships with their professors,” Paul says. Paul cites Dr. Donna Rizzo, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CEMS, in particular with helping students develop excellent research proposals and carry on with their findings. “Donna Rizzo has been the champion of the
‘Advancing the Field’ Dr. Donna Rizzo Appointed Dorothean Chair Dr. Donna Rizzo, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering, has been appointed as the Dorothean Chair in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. “On behalf of the entire college, I offer my congratulations to Dr. Rizzo,” said CEMS Dean Luis Garcia. “Recognition from one’s peers is the highest honor and this is a well-deserved appointment.” The Dorothean Chair was established in the 1990s by Stuart “Red” Martin in honor of his wife, Dorothy. The original bequest stated that chair should be given to “an outstanding individual in the field of engineering or related science whose work promises to be significant in advancing the field.” Dr. Rizzo, who joined UVM in 2002, has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her work focuses on the development and deployment of computational tools to improve understanding of mankind’s impact on the environment and improve stewardship of natural resources. She has also served as the steward of the highly successful Barrett Undergraduate Research Program. Dr. Rizzo will hold the chair until the end of academic year 2019-2020.
program for years,” says Paul. University of Vermont
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established its emission measuring parameters. James Lent ’14 used his Barrett Scholarship to better understand how microbes withstand unfavorable environments. The work might lead to more efficient production of biofuels as an alternative to burning fossil fuels, which is worsening climate change. “The microbes that produce biofuel will eat sugar and turn it to fuels that can be burned, but they’re not very good at it,” Lent explains.
‘ENCOURAGING AND MOTIVATING’ Disastrous flooding from 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene provided a silver lining for Hannah Anderson ’15. Her Barrett Scholarship project was to study stream bank erosion, and the storm provided new data and opportunities to explore the subject. “Finding ways to decrease the amount of erosion is important for the future of our watersheds,” given rising phosphorus levels and changes brought on by climate change, she says, noting that studies may help town and environmental officials make more informed planning decisions.
Top: Anna Nadler Bottom: James Lent Right: Hannah Anderson
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
“This research has created a great experience for me to use my knowledge and help the community and environment. I want to continue doing work like this after I am done with school,” Anderson says. “That’s just the kind of feedback Barrett likes to hear,” Paul says. The students are appreciative of the support they receive from the Barrett Scholarships, with one student even seeking out Barrett during one of his visits to Burlington. The student, aware that Barrett was in town, found him in a restaurant so he could personally shake his hand. “He’d gotten a dream job,” Paul says. Poniz, the student studying tissue regeneration, seems headed in precisely that direction. The Barrett Scholarship led to a Eureka grant from the National Institute of Health that enabled Poniz to continue studying his subject, and he’s planning on attending graduate school. “The benefits of hands-on research is very encouraging and motivating,” he says.
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DOW JONES OF HAPPINESS
“What it’s doing right now is measuring
How the Complex Systems Center at CEMS is tracking the world’s moods
in English,” says Chris Danforth, a mathe-
By Joshua Brown
Twitter, checking the happiness of tweets matician who co-led the creation of the site with the director of UVM’s Complex
Want to measure how financial markets are faring? Check Dow Jones or the S&P 500. Want to measure how happy the world was yesterday? Check… wait a minute. You can’t measure global happiness, can you? Yes you can — we’ve built a tool to do the job, say Peter Dodds and Chris Danforth.
Systems Center, Peter Dodds. The research team made headlines — including Time Magazine and The Atlantic— when they reported on the happiest and saddest cities in America: Napa, Calif., at the top and Beaumont, Texas, at the bottom.
EMOTIONAL TEMPERATURE The hedonometer draws on what scientists call the “psychological valence” of about
These CEMS scien-
10,000 words. Paid volunteers, using Ama-
tists, working with
zon’s Mechanical Turk service, rated these
others from the MITRE Corporation, have
words for their “emotional temperature,”
been gaining international attention over
says Dodds.
the last few years for the creation of what they’re calling a hedonometer. It’s a happi-
The volunteers ranked words they per-
ness sensor — and it made the front page of
ceived as the happiest near the top of a 1-9
the Wall Street Journal. Now findings from
scale; sad words near the bottom. Averag-
their research are updated every 24 hours
ing the volunteers’ responses, each word
(soon to be every hour, and, eventually,
received a score: “happy” itself ranked 8.30,
every minute) — and are available to the
“hahaha” 7.94, “cherry” 7.04, and the
public for free at www.hedonometer.org.
more-neutral “pancake” 6.96. Truly neutral words, “and” and “the” scored 5.22 and
HAPPIEST AND SADDEST CITIES On the hedonometer’s front page, a wavering graph rises and falls like a ticker at the New York Stock Exchange. Except, instead of averaging the value of thousands of companies, the hedonometer compiles and averages the emotional state of tens of millions of people.
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
4.98. At the bottom, “crash” 2.60, the emoticon “:(“ 2.36, “war” 1.80, and “jail” 1.76.
explore the “molecules” of two-word expres-
fifty million tweets from around the world
sions. But the hedonometer does work.
each day — “then we basically toss all the
“The key piece is not whether we’re correctly
words into a huge bucket,” says Dodds —
measuring atoms and molecules,” says Brian
and calculates the bucket’s average happi-
Tivnan, a researcher from MITRE. “The hedon-
ness score.
ometer shows the pulse of a society.”
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Using these scores, the team collects some
“Our method is only reasonable for largescale texts, like what’s available on the Web,” Dodds says. “Any word or expression can be used in different ways. There’s too much variability in individual expression” to use this approach to understand small groups or small samples. For example, “sick” may mean something radically different to a 14-year-old skateboarder than it does to his pediatrician. But that’s the beauty of big data. Each word is like an atom in the air when you’re trying to figure out the temperature. It’s the aggregate effect that registers, and no individual tweet or word makes much difference.
Dr. Chris Danforth appointed UVM Flint Professor
THE VERDICT OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Dr. Chris Danforth, Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, has been appointed to the Flint Professorship in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Vermont.
In 1881, a little-known book, Mathematical
Established in 1885 by Edwin Flint, the Flint Professorship recognizes a distinguished faculty member in the fields of “Mathematics, Natural or Technic Science.”
Psychics, published by Francis Edgeworth, asked the reader to “imagine an ideally perfect instrument, a psychophysical machine, continually registering the height of pleasure experienced by an individual, exactly according to the verdict of consciousness.” In other words, a hedonometer. While Edgeworth’s was a thought experiment, Dodds and Danforth’s hedonometer is a real device. As such, it’s not quite “ideally perfect.” They’re working now to expand beyond the “atoms” of single words to
“It is a great pleasure to see Chris recognized for his contributions to the college,“ said Dean Luis Garcia. “He is a great representative of the energy and creativity that our faculty brings every day.” Danforth’s research focuses on the interface between big data and mathematical models, with scholarly contributions across fields ranging from atmospheric science to complex systems. He has applied principles of chaos theory to improve the algorithms used to make weather forecasts, and developed a new instrument for measuring population level happiness in real-time using social media, the hedonometer. Danforth, along with colleague Peter Dodds, co-directs the Computational Story Lab, a group of applied mathematicians at the Undergraduate, Masters, PhD, and Postdoctoral rank working on large-scale, system-level problems in a wide variety of disciplines. He is also the Associate Director of the Vermont Complex Systems Center. Danforth will hold the Chair until the end of academic year 2017-2018.
University of Vermont
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BREWING INTERNSHIPS
‘A HIDDEN GEM’
With Burlington’s emergence as a tech hub, CEMS students are finding rewarding summer opportunities
Chen’s experience – finding a hands-on
By Aimee Picchi
time job -- isn’t unusual for students at the
For Mona Chen ’14, a summer internship with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) was as eye opening as the company’s Dark Magic Extra Bold blend.
summer internship that provided both specific expertise and, eventually, a fullCollege of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, notes Danielle Gallant, senior career counselor at the university’s Career Center. “CEMS students have the character and skills needed to enter today’s global market,” she notes. Executives, for their part, view internships as training grounds for new hires. What’s driving these opportunities? For one, Burlington’s tech scene is thriving, leading Techie.com to cite the Queen City as one of the most promising tech hubs to watch in 2014. And companies that one might not think of as “tech” firms – such as Burton
Mona Chen
“I wasn’t filing paper or getting coffee,”
Snowboards – also have a high demand for
Chen says of her experience. Instead, her
engineering expertise. That helped CEMS
boss asked her to work on the coffee giant’s
mechanical engineering student Logan
groundbreaking deal to create a new
Williams to secure a Burton internship last
beverage system with Coca-Cola.
year.
“I was working on tons of presentations for
“There’s a smaller Silicon Valley here, with
my bosses to assess that this was a doable
a lot of tech companies that are doing
project,” she notes of the internship, which
innovative work,” Gallant notes. For CEMS
she secured through UVM’s Career Center.
students, that means the ability to work
For Chen, the role with GMCR offered a taste of engineering management, a bonus given her long-term goal of earning an
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with companies that are growing rapidly. Vermont is “a hidden gem. We’re just starting to get on people’s radar.”
MBA. But Chen isn’t quite done with GMCR:
Firms outside Vermont are also turning to
She’ll start working full-time for its Keurig
CEMS students for filling their internship
unit in June.
roles, such as Boston’s State Street
CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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Corporation, which has set aside two internship opportunities for University of Vermont students with a strength in IT or computer science, Gallant notes.
AN EXPANDED COMMITMENT At the same time, UVM has expanded its commitment to internship opportunities, as part of the Career Success Action Plan created at the request of president Tom Sullivan. The college is in the process of hiring a full-time career
computer science major began working there last summer, with a focus on adding new features and fixing bugs in Node Commander,
Above: Michael FIckes Left: Logan Williams
an application used to configure settings for wireless nodes, which measure data ranging from humidity to torque. counselor who will be embedded with
Both Fickes and Chen negotiated to extend
CEMS, with that professional solely
their internships into the academic year. In
dedicated to assisting CEMS students with
Fickes’ case, he spends two afternoons a
tapping internships and career
week digging into software problems at
opportunities.
LORD Microstrain.
The chance to work on coding attracted
“The opportunity to go in and solve problems
Michael Fickes ’14 to LORD Microstrain, a
all day was great,” Fickes says. “It’s what I do
Williston-based sensor company. The
for fun.” University of Vermont
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THE CAPSTONE CHALLENGE Engineering seniors take on longstanding problems for corporate, private and municipal clients By Aimee Picchi
The white board represents months of recruiting work by Novotny, a School of Engineering lecturer, who is lining up potential clients for CEMS’ Capstone senior design course. Novotny even found a recruit while camping last summer, when small talk revealed that his campsite neighbor worked at a ropes-course company. So why does an academic class require external support? It’s part of an innovative course that’s attracted patronage from the likes of Burton Snowboards, General Dynamics, the city of Essex and Ideas Well Done. In return for providing support, which may include supplies, funding and mentoring, those clients tap CEMS students to solve engineering problems. In mid-April, Novotny’s planning comes to a head with what Jeff Frolik, associate professor of electrical engineering, wryly calls “a speed-dating event.” Clients set up tables in Billings Hall and pitch their challenges to rising seniors, who then rank their top choices. From that input, Novotny creates small teams that will spend the following year solving clients’
Above: Hunter O’Folan Right: John Gardner-Morse
problems through By early March, the white
deconstructing the
board propped up in John
problem, research the root
Novotny’s sunny Votey
causes and designing and
office is covered with a
prototyping a solution.
long list of scribbled names. Several threeinitial companies – IBM and NRG – are peppered among them.
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CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
“The students’ mindset is that they are a consulting firm working for a client,” Novotny notes.
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“We want students to be socially aware and have civic engagement,” notes associate professor Mandar Dewoolkar, who co-teaches the class with lecturer Andrea Pearce. Domenic Imbarrato ’14 is working on a design for a new section of a Shelburne bike path. “Being able to realize this and to develop a reasonable cost range” was one of his team’s challenges, he notes. The towns of Aaron Morton ’14 and his team, funded by MITRE, designed and built drones that follow a person via the GPS in their Android phone. “You could use the robot to fly down the mountain and film you as you ski,” Morton notes. “Another application might be a robot that follows you on the battlefield.”
Milton and Richmond are among past clients that have moved forward with incorporating Capstone designs. Dewoolkar notes, “It’s very fulfilling
The Capstone projects provide a slightly
for the students
different perspective for civil and
when they see
environmental engineering students. Their
that.”
goal? To find solutions to engineering headaches facing Vermont municipalities.
Above: Jon Ritter, Reed Hanson, Dan Fuchs Left: Jason Pearl, Mitchell Brown
University of Vermont
18
SUMMIT
“CREATIVE SOLUTIONS” CEMS Dean Luis Garcia on the essential lessons of an engineering education By Joshua Brown
were very limited. We had punch cards. If I had left my knowledge at that, I would’ve been obsolete shortly after leaving school. Now a lot of what I do is computer-based modeling.
“A rainstorm is a beautiful event,” says Luis
My point is that what students really get
Garcia. The UVM dean is speaking from
out of an engineering education are prob-
experience, having seen firsthand the
lem-solving tools — to solve problems that
impact of drought on his family farm in
we don’t even yet know about. Some skills
Colombia,
might stay current — perhaps lessons
where, through-
about statics and dynamics. But there are
out his child-
others that are going to change very fast
hood, he trou-
and you need to be aware of that and
bleshot irriga-
upgrade your skill set. That’s why I love
tion systems
engineering: it’s more about getting a prob-
with his dad.
lem and coming at it with a creative solution. That’s the core of what we do.
It was an early exposure to
I realize this invites a hot-button
problem-solv-
question: to what extent should
ing that would later spark a career in civil
engineering education be informed
and environmental engineering and even-
by the humanities?
tually lead to chairing his department at Colorado State University, the post he held
Engineering is a discipline that requires
before he was named the dean of UVM’s
interaction with people. The humanities
College of Engineering and Mathematical
are critical to making students better
Sciences in August.
rounded human beings. I believe in students having a broad education because it
Summit: In light of the coming “new nor-
helps them develop better solutions.
mal,” what do you think an undergradu-
Sometimes if you are too technical, you
ate student in engineering should
miss the fact that some of the best solu-
know?
tions have to be holistic.
An education, at the heart of it, is learning
What do you imagine the College of
how to learn. So engineering is learning
Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
how to do problem-solving. Any technolo-
looks like in five years?
gy that you learn now is likely going to be
19
upgraded or obsolete in five to ten years.
I’m very excited about the new STEM facili-
When I came out of school, computers
ty that President Sullivan and Provost
CEMS | College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
We have a great complex systems group
that we’re working hard to bring to reali-
now (see pages 13-14) and they’ve been so
ty. It will bring a huge upgrade to the
successful that we would like to grow since
infrastructure and allow us to meet
they are interdisciplinary involving com-
unmet needs that we have right now.
puter sciences, mathematics and engineer-
We’ll have new lab facilities; our students
ing. But we also have a particular interest
will have better teaching classrooms and
in expanding our biomedical work because
we’ll have improved research space for
UVM has a renowned medical school. We
our faculty; we have a world-class faculty.
have some linkages with them and I’d like
SUMMIT
Rosowsky have been championing and
to strengthen them. With the new infrastructure in place, it’s going to be a huge boost to our repu-
Materials is another area that I would like
tation and help us move to the next
to focus on, including nanomaterials. And
level. Then, we will start looking at
the environment is a big area for UVM, plus
maintaining and enhancing areas of
it’s an area that is close to my heart, so we’ll
strength such as our Department of
continue to focus there. I am very excited
Mathematics and Statistics and a few
and optimistic about the great things we
more areas to focus on.
can accomplish in the next five years!
SUMMIT EDITOR: Aimee Picchi ART DIRECTOR: Jenn Karson
Share your thoughts about SUMMIT with us. Contact: Jenn Karson, jkarson@uvm.edu
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Joshua Brown, Matt Sutkoski
cems.uvm.edu
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Tamara Smith PHOTOGRAPHY: AERO, Bobby Bruderle, Conor Doherty, GIV, Rick Levinson, Sally McCay, Yoram Reshef, Steve Seremeth, Sharon Youth Robotics Association, Vermont Makers
University of Vermont
20
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Burlington, VT Permit No. 143
Save the Date Dr. Neri Oxman, MIT Media Lab Thursday, October 2, 2014 5 p.m., at UVM Ira Allen Chapel The UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences presents the 2014 George D. Aiken Lecture. The keynote will feature Neri Oxman, Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. Dr. Oxman combines breakthroughs in materials science with design principals found in nature, and has exhibited her work at MoMA and the Smithsonian. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Engineering and Sciences CEMS Mathematical COLLEGE OF
cems.uvm.edu