MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013 Activities by Sponsor - Undergraduate Association



Departmental Exploration (DEX)

Katherine Julian, Staff Associate, Bruno Faviero, Aliya Dincer

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

First-year students, have you picked your passion yet? Don't miss this inaugural series of departmental exploration (DEX) events sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming and the Undergraduate Association.

DEX will be a structured time at the end of IAP for academic discovery that will allow students to experience what it’s like to be an undergrad in each department. Events include: student topic panels, open houses and showcases of projects and research.

The events will primarily focus on departments in the School of Science and School of Engineering. Additionally, departments in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Sloan School of Management and School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences will also be highlighted throughout the week.

Events will take place on January 28, 29, 31, and February 1. No sign up is necessary, just come to whatever sessions you are interested in!

Sponsor(s): Office of Undergrad. Advising/Academic Programming, Undergraduate Association
Contact: Katherine Julian, 7-103, 617 253-9764, KJULIAN@MIT.EDU


Technological Engineering Topic Panel

Jan/28 Mon 01:00PM-02:30PM 34-101

Student representatives of courses 1, 2, 6, 12, 16 and 22 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topic of technological engineering. 


Active link to NASA Telescope

Jan/29 Tue 09:00AM-11:00AM 54-427

Come see a live connection to a NASA optical telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii that is operated from the MIT campus.  Join with Professor Richard Binzel to learn about the science program of asteroid observations conducted using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility 3-meter telescope.  Drop in for all or part of the time. No advance sign-up necessary.


Open Hours, Atmospheric Chemistry Lab

Jan/29 Tue 10:00AM-11:00AM 54-131

Atmospheric aerosol particles can affect the Earth's climate system by absorbing or scattering solar and terrestrial radiation, or by acting as the seeds on which cloud droplets and ice crystals form. Visit our laboratory to see the experiments we run to understand the fundamental processes involved in particle formation and evolution.


Chemistry Demo Show

Jan/29 Tue 11:00AM-12:00PM 4-149

Chemistry has wide ranging applications in materials, medicine, energy, and many other areas. Join Course 5 students and members of the M.I.T. Chemistry Outreach Program for fun and informational demonstrations of simple chemistry applications.


Energy Minor Demo Show

Jan/29 Tue 12:00PM-01:00PM 34-101

What do a fireball, homemade OLEDs, an electric go-cart, and low-power sensors have in common? Come to our Energy Demo Hour and find out! See firsthand how fun studying energy can be. All MIT students are welcome.


Biology/Life Science Topic Panel

Jan/29 Tue 01:00PM-02:00PM 34-101

Student representatives from courses 7, 6-7, 9, 20, 10B, and 12 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topics of biology and the life sciences.

 


Chemistry Topic Panel

Jan/29 Tue 02:00PM-03:00PM 34-101

Student representatives from courses 5, 3, 10, and 12 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topic of chemistry.


Brain and Cognitive Science open house

Jan/29 Tue 03:00PM-04:00PM 34-101

Come learn about brain and cognitive science through general Q&A with course 9 undergrads before and after watching videos of faculty describing aspects of course 9 at 3:30. Light refreshments provided!


Course 7 and 20 lab tours

Jan/29 Tue 03:30PM-04:30PM 68-074 & 16-352

Come tour labs in Course 7 (68-074) and Course 20 (16-352), where lab classes such as 7.02 and 20.309 are held. Each lab will conduct two half hour sessions, starting at 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM. Come to either lab at those times!


Lightning Lectures

Jan/29 Tue 04:30PM-06:00PM 36-144

Upperclassmen from courses 7, 9, 20, and 6-7 will give short lectures about their research projects and classes, sharing their perspectives on the opportunities in their major. Lectures will be followed by a brief Q&A with the student. Each lecture is no more than ten minutes long. 

 


Architecture Department Tour

Jan/31 Thu 11:00AM-12:00PM 7-431

Architecture will be hosting a department tour and presentation of student and faculty research and design work.  You will get a chance to visit the studios, workshops, and labs where you can see current students at work and the various fabrication methods and equipment.  After the tour, there will be a short presentation of the work you could be involved in as a Course 4 major through studios, internships, or UROPs.


Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium

Jan/31 Thu 12:00PM-05:00PM 68-181

The Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event sponsored by the Biology department to give top undergraduate students the opportunity to showcase their research to the Biology community at large. This year, fourteen students will give presentations of fifteen minutes each from 12:00 to 4:30.


Economic Games-The Prisoner's Dilemma

Jan/31 Thu 12:00PM-01:00PM 3-133, Snacks and drinks provided

Do you want to win? Do you want to know what your competitor is thinking? Do you know how to strike the balance between competition and cooperation? Prisoner's Dilemma is the most well-known game strategy in social science. It has wide applications in economics, business, and real life. Come and play the game with UEA (Undergraduate Economic Association) and learn more about course 14 from TAs and upperclassmen. 


Design, Infrastructure & Policy Panel

Jan/31 Thu 01:00PM-02:00PM 34-101

Student representatives from courses 1, 4, 11, 17, and 22 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topics of design, infrastructure and policy.


Economics, Finance, & Policy Panel

Jan/31 Thu 02:00PM-03:00PM 34-101

Student representatives from courses 14, 15, and 17 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topics of economics, finance/management and policy.


Course 1 Open House

Jan/31 Thu 03:00PM-04:00PM 36-112

Large enough to offer a range of opportunities, yet small enough to provide personal attention, Course 1 strikes just the right balance. Learn what sustainable development, carbon sequestration, building technology, environmental fieldwork, transportation systems, renewable energy and engineering design have in common. These and other Course 1 projects address some of the most pressing problems of our time.


ChemExploration: All things ChemE

Jan/31 Thu 06:00PM-08:00PM 66-110

ChemExploration is a 2 hour extravaganza on all things ChemE.  The first hour of the talks reviews every required course X class, and the second explains some of the unique opportunities available to those with a chemical engineering degree.  We will have guest alumni present to discuss how MIT chemical engineering affected their career path.  And, of course, there will be free food!


Open Houses/Other Events: Course 8,18,22

Feb/01 Fri 10:00AM-05:30PM TBD

Check back for more details! Open houses/Other events in course 8, 18 and 22 will take place between 10-1pm and 2:30-5:30 pm.


Mathematics with Julia

Feb/01 Fri 11:00AM-12:00PM 2-139

Julia is a new open source technical tool under development at MIT
and around the world.  While still new and therefore not as mature as MATLAB and Python, users can jump right in.  We will demonstrate through examples how computation is influencing mathematics,
and how mathematics influences computation. Feel free to bring your laptop,downloaded with Julia, and type along.Experts will be on hand to help with questions.


Math, Physics, & Computer Science Panel

Feb/01 Fri 01:00PM-02:30PM 54-100

Student representatives from courses 18, 6-3, 12, 22 and 8 will discuss departmental opportunities and approaches to the the topics of math, physics and computer science.


Physics Lightning Lectures

Feb/01 Fri 03:00PM-05:00PM 8-329

Come join physics undergraduates as they explain fascinating physics topics in under five minutes while trying to impersonate your favorite professors! Topics include quantum mechanics (8.04), quantum information (8.370J), General Relativity (8.962) and how to hunt for a Higgs boson. Event will be held in the Physics Common Room (8-329)