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IIT's Best show their work at the April 1996
As I looked around campus, I
noticed that Professors, including myself, were sending students to
conferences, such as the NSF Alabama
UGR conference, to present the results of their research at other
institutions. It was clear we should showcase our best right here on the
IIT campus and thus
the wheels were set in motion for IIT's 1st annual UGR Conference.
I walked around campus seeking support, conceptual and financial, for a
conference. I had opportunity to discuss the entire concept with the "Man on
the Bench". He was clearly supportive of the idea and suggested I sit and
talk for awhile. He is a very good listener. I explained
that we needed a date, a staff, judges, prizes, and "buy-in".
The Dean of the Undergraduate
College quickly blessed the entire concept, particularly my picking up
the cost of the conference, and offered to provide prize money.
ETC became the central location for
planning. Abstract forms were generated by
Cheryl and mailed to students
identified as having done research in the last several years. 
As soon as our speaker agreed to come, we made and posted flyers all over
campus. Profs. with students involved in UG research were encouraged to have
those students present their results. Metaphorically speaking, ideas and
preparations were flowing and we were ready to burst forth showcasing
our talent. (Who wrote this?)
The Hub staff in Herman Hall eagerly worked with us to provide quality
space and an attractive layout. A number of tough, but fairminded Professors,
such as Prof. Ken Schug of the Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences
(BCPS) Department, agreed to
judge the presentations and thus we were ready. Completed Abstracts were returned,
sorted, compiled, and printed for dissemination.
The ever friendly Prof. Sheldon Mostovoy of the Mechanical, Materials, and Areospace Engineering (MMAE) Department,
accepted the second judge position after I listened to his famous "can
design" lecture. Did you know the bottom of a can is stronger than its
sides? The room was bare and cold but light red table cloths quickly
improved the ambiance.
Sanjida was one of the first to arrive at noon with her poster
board and computer. With help from Kamesh, she got her poster on "Antifreeze
Polypeptides" up. The compter was running CHARM, a program she used at
Cornell University the prior
summer to simulate docking studies and do energy minimizations.
Dean of the Undergraduate College John Kallend welcome the assembled multitude and spoke on the
importance of the undergraduate research experience to the educational
process. Kim Terrell, a junior in Electrical Computer Engineering (ECE), an AMP Scholar, a
NASA Scholar, and Student Coordinator for the UGR Conference, introduced Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, an Aerospace Engineer with
the NASA Group, who was
our Invited Speaker.
Prof. David Patterson's
Electrical and Computer Engineering IPRO
(InterPROfessional project) Group stood together as a team presenting
their results on "Sensor Designs". IPROs are IIT's team
projects that engage students over several semesters while seeking solutions to important
problems. Faculty attendence was high and they listened intently to the
presentations.
Diego, an AMP Scholar who won a 1st place award at a National NSF Conference in California in August, demonstrated the "Interactive Tutorials" he developed working with Prof. Jim Karagiannes of the BCPS
Department. His display was hyperlinked and very interactive impressing the
judges that he could apply what he was learning to real situations.
Chemical Engineering majors Kristen and Georgia, both working with Prof.
Arastoopour of the Chemical Engineering Department (ChemE), presented preliminary results related to their laboratory experience. Georgia's work was on
"Bubble Flow" and Kristen's on "Polyethlyene Degradation in Knee Replacements".
Georgia thought some of the judges were
"hardnosed" but admitted the experience help prepared her for upcomming
interviews. Both CHE's are graduating seniors. As I returned to Sanjida's
poster, she was showing students how her work had been published on the
Internet. She is one of IIT's 7-year Medical Students and expect to go on to
attend medical school after completing her Chemical Engineering degree this
year.
Across the room, Scott, the Chemistry Master Tutor for my
freshmen chemistry course,
CHEM124 was wowing Prof. Schug with the "Organic Amine Detection
Scheme" he developed working with Prof. Stagliano of the BCPS Department.
After the grilling, Scott was congradulated by Cheryl Caplan who is Director of ETC and manages many of IIT's tutoring programs.
Will and Alberto are both AMP Scholars. Will worked with
Prof. Corke of the Mechanical, Materials, and Areospace Engineering (MMAE)
Department to improve the "Design of a Nose Cone". Alberto, whom I help
recruit from Puerto Rico
several years ago and who will present his research in Detroit in Nov. 1996,
worked with Prof. David Williams of the same department on "Feedback Control for
Aircraft".
Jake did his work on "Laser Altimetry" during the summer at
the Goddard Space
Flight Center working with Dr. Coyle. Many of our students find
summer research positions at other Universities and National Laboratories or
Centers - A great resume building and practical experience. Prof. Mukund Acharya,
MMAE, runs a NSF funded UGR Program on campus. Prof. Bob Jaeger of the Pritzker
Institute of Medical and Mechanical Engineering was "defending" a very
expensive piece of equiment his student Tom needed to demonstrate their
results.
When the presentations were finished, the students congregated
around the "free" food to await the judging results. Conversation centered
on projects, hopes and concerns. Many students were gathered around Aprille
asking about opportunities at NASA and other government facitities. I saw
her handing out applications so I expect we will have students there this
summer.
Dr. Ericsson-Jackson gave an inspiring talk centered around her
career and the importance that her undergraduate research experience had
played in her career decisions and advancement at NASA. First place was
awarded to Thomas Fuhr for his work with Prof. Jaeger on the "Hering
-Breuer Effect". Tom was an exchange student from
Denmark
spending a year touring the USA between experiments.
Michael Engel won second place for the research he did with Prof. Eugene
Smotkin of the BCPS Department on "Electrocatalysis on Gold Surfaces". Prof.
Smotkin is now a member of the Chemical Engineering Department. Diego
Carlton's work on "Hypercard Tutorials", which is described above, was
awarded third place. Prof. Jim Karagiannes is now working with a new group on a
second generation of the Hypercard program.
Because of the very high quality of the work presented, Dean John
Kallend insisted upon reaching into his wallet and pulling out enough
money to fund two additional Honorable-Mention Awards. These went to
Sanjida and Jake. The IIT community says "good job" to all the
presenters.
Finally, good things do not just happen. The First Annual Undergraduate
Research Conference Committee drew its members from all parts of the
University and worked hard to ensure the
1st UGR Conference's success. A round of applause for them-clap, clap - or a raise?? As the sun sets over Lake Michigan, we are already gearing up for next year.
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