UROP students collaborate on a glider plane UROP 40th Anniversary Symposium: TODAY
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Please join us in this celebration of the past 40 years of discovery and invention. To commemorate this special milestone, the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming is hosting a day-long Symposium.
The MIT Community is welcome to attend any session. The Symposium schedule and session locations follow below. We look forward to seeing you today.
8:00 AM: Registration in W16: Kresge Auditorium Lobby
9:00-9:30 AM: OPENING ADDRESS
Dr. Susan Hockfield, MIT President with introduction from Prof. Daniel Hastings, Dean for Undergraduate Education.
W16: Kresge Auditorium
9:30 AM TO 10:20 AM: FACULTY PRESENTATION
Prof. Elazer Edelman, Health Sciences and Technology
W16: Kresge Auditorium
Prof. Edelman began his research career as an UROP student and is now an active UROP faculty supervisor. Dr. Edelman will discuss the ways in which UROP students contribute to research in his lab, which focuses on melding clinical interests in unstable coronary syndromes with scientific studies in pharmacology, biomaterials science, high resolution microscopy/image analysis, polymeric drug delivery, tissue engineering, cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry.
10:20 AM TO 10:30 AM: BREAK
10:30 AM TO 11:20 AM: FACULTY PRESENTATION
Prof. Cynthia Breazeal, Media, Arts and Sciences
W16: Kresge Auditorium
Dr. Breazeal, director of the Media Lab's Personal Robots group, will discuss her research on the expressive social exchange between humans and humanoid robots. Her work is particularly focused on developing creature-like technologies that exhibit social common-sense and engage people in familiar, human terms.
11:20 AM TO 11:30 AM: MORNING SESSION CLOSING REMARKS
Julie Norman, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and
Director, Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming
W16: Kresge Auditorium
11:30 AM TO 1:30PM: LUNCH BREAK
See the MIT Dining website for a list of on-campus dining options.
11:30AM to 1:30PM: UROP STUDENT POSTER SESSION
W20 3rd Floor
Students representing a variety of MIT academic disciplines will present their research.
1:30 to 3:45PM: UROP SHOWCASES
Showcases are paired in order to give attendees insight into the depth and breadth of UROP research at MIT.
Showcase 1: Room W20-407
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Theory of Mind: Professor Rebecca Saxe
Neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe investigates the neural basis for a Theory of Mind -- how the human mind seems geared to “glean what others are thinking and feeling.” Prof. Saxe will discuss her recent work, as well as the contributions UROP students make to her research.
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Taking UROP Overseas: Student Presentations
A panel featuring undergraduates who have participated in UROP overseas (International Research Opportunities Program). Panelists will present their research and describe their experience of immersion in another culture. Introduced and moderated by Prof. Kim Vandiver, Dean for Undergraduate Research.
Showcase 2: W16 Kresge Auditorium
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Robotics, Vision, and Sensor Networks: Professor Seth Teller
Professor Seth Teller, Director of Robotics, Vision, and Sensor Networks and longtime UROP mentor, will discuss the group’s recent work in developing autonomous mobile robots with situational awareness that perform useful low-level and high-level tasks (like fetching, delivery, wheelchair transport, driving, forklift operation) for and in cooperation with people.
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Giving Back - UROP and Community Service
Service UROPs provide MIT students the opportunity to engage in service-focused research projects that address challenges faced by a wide spectrum of communities. Come hear Public Service Center staff and students discuss how research and service complement each other and form an integral part of the MIT experience.
Showcase 3: Room W20, Twenty Chimneys
1:30 - 2:30 PM:UROP in the Arts and Humanities: Student Presentations
Undergraduate panelists will portray research opportunities in a range of arts and humanities disciplines. MIT literature Professor Stephen Tapscott, will introduce and moderate this panel.
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Genetics and Cancer: The Tyler Jacks Laboratory
The Tyler Jacks Laboratory studies cancer and cancer-related processes with a focus on in vivo approaches, using mouse models of cancer that recapitulate tumor initiation, progression and metastasis seen in human disease. This presentation will feature Prof. Jacks, Director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and members of his research team.
Showcase 4: Room W20, Mezzanine Lounge
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Advances in Biomedical Engineering: The Robert Langer Laboratory
David H. Koch Institute Professor Robert Langer is a longtime advocate for undergraduate research in biomedicine and engineering. Prof. Langer, along with collaborator Dr. Daniel Kohane of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology will present on the group's current research and describe the contributions of undergraduate researchers to the body of new knowledge.
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Global Architectural Design: Professor Jan Wampler
Prof. Wampler of the MIT Architecture department specializes in research related to architectural design for communities in developing nations. Prof. Wampler and his students will discuss how creative designs that respect local traditions meet the unique needs of local inhabitants. They will also describe the ways in which these experiences help instill a sense of global responsibility in the designers of tomorrow.
Showcase 5: W20-491
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Charging Up Undergraduate Research: MIT Energy Initiative UROPs
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) is an Institute-wide initiative designed to help transform the global energy system through applied research addressing emerging global energy and climate challenges. MITEI UROP students conduct research that spans a wide-range of energy topics, including renewable energy sources, advances in today’s energy systems, energy conservation and efficiency, and campus energy management. Learn how MIT undergraduates are currently approaching the world energy crisis.
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Changing Lives through Better Policy: The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
The goal of MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab (known as J-PAL) is to reduce poverty by ensuring that economic policy is based on scientific evidence. J-PAL researchers help influence policy and improve lives through the scale-up of effective programs. Research staff and students from J-PAL will present on their economic policy research and how it impacts developing nations.
