newsbrief

Stephanie Wanek shares fulfilling work, passion for ATLAS community, with alma-mater

Anonymous — Wed, 19 May 2021 22:23:56 +0000

Stephanie Wanek shares fulfilling work, passion for ATLAS community, with alma-mater Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/19/2021 - 16:23

Stephanie Wanek has been a longtime CU ��«��Ƶ staff member, including with the ATLAS Institute and National Center for Women in Info Tech/NCWIT. In this interview with her alma mater, the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York City, Wanek shares her love for the university and for working at ATLAS, and how the institute's engineering programs in Creative Technology & Design train the next generation to solve today's big problems–such as climate change, humanitarian issues and alternative energies.

"Sometimes change starts with a bunch of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives coming together and tinkering around with an idea," she said.

Read the full interview

Photo: Elliott Whitehead

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Sasha de Koninck to host “Future Heirlooms Workshop” at UW-Madison conference

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 17:24:53 +0000

Sasha de Koninck to host “Future Heirlooms Workshop” at UW-Madison conference Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/10/2021 - 10:24

Sasha de Koninck, an Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance PhD student and a member of the Unstable Design Lab, will host a virtual “Future Heirlooms Workshop” at the Textiles from Home: Local Crafts, Global Conversations Conference on March 17, 3-5 p.m. MDT. During the workshop, participants will work with materials around them to create a future textile heirloom to be used for a specific future moment. Textiles from Home is a project of the Design Studies Department and the Center for Design and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and conference presentations focus on connections between textile making, domestic space, and local environments, historically and now. The conference includes sessions on “such of-the-moment crazes” as artful mending, embroidery, women in fiber mills and Scottish wool.

Abstract and registration

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Laura Devendorf to present March 11 at Georgia Tech’s GVU Brown Bag Seminar Series

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:33:58 +0000

Laura Devendorf to present March 11 at Georgia Tech’s GVU Brown Bag Seminar Series Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/10/2021 - 09:33

Laura Devendorf, director of the Unstable Design Lab in the ATLAS Institute and assistant professor of information science, will deliver a lecture entitled, “Designing Not Knowing,” on March 11 as part of Georgia Tech’s GVU Brown Bag Seminar Series. In this talk, Devendorf will present “designing not knowing” as a practice through which “to try to probe, question and understand what counts as design, aiming to inspire reflection,” as well as offer a few tactics for “unknowing.” The GVU Brown Bag seminar series features distinguished speakers in both industry and academic fields, providing a glimpse into the research, design, and thoughts of individuals whose work represents the core mission of the GVU Center.

Abstract and speaker bio

“Designing Not Knowing,” March 11, 10:30 a.m. MST (12:30 p.m. EST)

Laura Devendorf, director of the Unstable Design Lab in the ATLAS Institute and assistant professor of information science, will deliver a lecture entitled “Designing Not Knowing” on March 11 as part of Georgia Tech’s GVU Brown Bag Seminar Series.

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Virtual global speaking tour: "Making Magic with Creative Technology and Design"

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 04:26:24 +0000

Virtual global speaking tour: "Making Magic with Creative Technology and Design" Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/15/2020 - 22:26

Though she remained in ��«��Ƶ all of last week, Ellen Do, professor of computer science with the ATLAS Institute, was busy globe-trotting on a virtual speaking tour in Asia, addressing faculty and students at engineering universities in Indonesia and Malaysia. On September 8, she delivered her talk to an audience of more than 700 at Indonesia's BINUS University’s School of Information Systems. Two days later, she spoke to faculty and students at the University of Technology Malaysia's School of Computing as part of their Distinguished Lecture Series, titled, "Making Magic with Creative Technology and Design"—at last count it had been viewed by more than 900.

Her talk is a rapid-fire survey of research and creative work conducted in ATLAS labs over the last several years. “I had a lot of fun,” said Do. “I loved reading the comments afterward; students expressed so much enthusiasm for our work and faculty were so engaged. My favorite comment was presumably by a faculty member: ‘How do we prepare our university students for this?’ After so much isolation, it was great to reach out to so many people so far away.”

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New Playzeum exhibit includes musical hexagons designed by Jiffer Harriman.

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 22:05:08 +0000

New Playzeum exhibit includes musical hexagons designed by Jiffer Harriman. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/21/2020 - 16:05

The Museum of ��«��Ƶ's offerings include the new Playzeum exhibit, with musical hexagons designed by ATLAS Lecturer Jiffer Harriman.

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Shaz Zamore interviewed on My Fave Queer Chemist

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 03:02:46 +0000

Shaz Zamore interviewed on My Fave Queer Chemist Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/03/2020 - 21:02

Shaz Zamore (they/them), STEAM Outreach Coordinator at the ATLAS Institute, talks about their graduate and postdoctoral research, why science communication is so important, their experiences as a queer, non-binary POC and so much more.

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BMoCA opens with Joel Swanson artwork

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 22:22:35 +0000

BMoCA opens with Joel Swanson artwork Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/29/2020 - 16:22

The work of ATLAS CU ��«��Ƶ engineering faculty member Joel Swanson greets visitors as ��«��Ƶ Museum Of Contemporary Art opens its doors again to the public.

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Clement Zheng speaks about dissertation on KGNU's "How on Earth Science Show"

Anonymous — Tue, 05 May 2020 21:09:50 +0000

Clement Zheng speaks about dissertation on KGNU's "How on Earth Science Show" Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/05/2020 - 15:09

In an episode focused on students about to receive their PhDs in STEM-related fields, Clement Zheng speaks about his dissertation research, "Everyday Materials for Physical Interactive Systems," his graduate school experience and what he has planned next.

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ATLAS affiliated PhD student honored by National Science Foundation

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 22:57:37 +0000

ATLAS affiliated PhD student honored by National Science Foundation Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/15/2020 - 16:57

ATLAS affiliated PhD student Vinitha Gadiraju has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a prestigious award that recognizes and supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Advised by Shaun Kane, director of the Superhuman Computing Lab, Gadiraju researches and develops educational toys to help children who are visually impaired and members of their support network. More broadly, her research interests include assistive/accessible technology in education and designing tools to support classroom equity.

"I am very grateful to the NSF for this fellowship for supporting my ongoing and future research," Gadiraju says. "This fellowship will allow me to iteratively design and build computational toys that support children learning Braille at home and in the classroom. It will also support direct user testing of these toys with children who are visually impaired, their families and teachers of the visually impaired."

GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

According to the NSF GRFP website, NSF Fellows are "anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching and innovations in science and engineering" and "are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large."

In total for 2020, the NSF awarded 26 Graduate Research Fellowships to CU ��«��Ƶ students.

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ATLAS Jam Station project selected for Maker Made 2020

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 20:15:17 +0000

ATLAS Jam Station project selected for Maker Made 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/10/2020 - 13:15

Jam Station, an interactive project created in ATLAS Professor Ellen Yi-Luen Do's Music Technology and Wellness class, is one of several installations being displayed at Maker Made 2020. The gallery show, which runs through March 30 at ��«��Ƶ Library’s Canyon Gallery, displays "diverse and inspiring work produced by local makers," according to the library's website.

Jam Station promotes musical improvisation, also known as "jamming," among those who have difficulties learning to play instruments, said Pete Pascente, CTD master's student, who along with researchers Torin Hopkins, ATLAS PhD student, Wayne Seltzer, ATLAS technologist-in-residence and Kellie Masterson, developed the project. Jamming is considered difficult even for experienced musicians, he said.

"We wanted to allow people who know nothing about music to experience the joy of a jam - to collaborate and feel like they're part of a something a little bigger than themselves," Pascente said.

The station is a 7-by-4 feet rectangular PVC cuboid, whereby four instruments crafted from everyday materials are situated so that each jam member faces a vertically oriented neopixel display. Embedded sensors in Jam Station's instruments trigger complex and colorful light displays as collaboration between musicians improves, and these visual cues help novice musicians improvise music together.

"The instruments are designed to not resemble what we normally think of as instruments, so they're more approachable," Pascente said.

Initial survey results showed overall positive reactions to the experience, Seltzer said, with all six self-described "nonmusicians" rating their experience as "good."

Jam Station, an interactive project created in ATLAS Professor Ellen Yi-Luen Do's Music Technology and Wellness class, was chosen as one of several installations being displayed at Maker Made 2020, a gallery show at ��«��Ƶ Library’s Canyon Gallery.

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