grad 2019

Opening Doors

Anonymous — Mon, 06 May 2019 19:11:58 +0000

Opening Doors Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/06/2019 - 13:11

The dissertations of all five 2019 graduates of the ATLAS Institute's PhD in Technology, Media & Society program emphasize empowering groups that tend to be less engaged in engineering fields. The five graduates are all women, itself a group that is underrepresented in engineering.

“There are opportunities to make our learning systems more equitable, empowering and inclusive of the amazing diversity in the human experience,” says Abigale Stangl, a graduating PhD student who researched how to make media and information systems more accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired. “We need to think about how to change social conversations about what’s possible for people of all different abilities.”

Women, people with disabilities, and most minority groups, including African Americans, Latinos, American Indians and Alaska Natives are all underrepresented in science and engineering (S&E), according to the 2019 Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities Report by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The proportion of the underrepresented groups is lowest in engineering, computer sciences and physics.

Mark Gross, director of the ATLAS Institute, points out that ATLAS PhD students embrace many topics and this clustering is a little unusual, but that ATLAS is a place that seeks to empower everyone to engage with technology and engineering. “Historically, engineering and computing have been dominated by white men like me," says Gross. He references the research of this year's ATLAS graduation speaker, inventor Leah Buechley, a CU ��«��Ƶ alumna with a PhD in computer science from the College of Engineering and Applied Science; she pointed out in a paper that of the 36 covers of Make Magazine published to date, 85 percent featured white males. None were people of color.

"Until we change those numbers, we’re missing out on great talent. Our graduating PhD students exemplify that talent," adds Gross.

In their dissertations, Donna Auguste and Simone Hyater-Adams sought to broaden African American participation in STEM fields, Auguste via researching the bond between STEM learning and STEM identities and Hyater-Adams through using performing arts and digital media to attract underrepresented students; Stangl examined how to make media and information systems more accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired; Hyunjoo Oh created design tools that enable children to design and build mechanical systems, drawing children in by making those systems playful and engaging; and Brittany Kos researched the barriers women and non-binary students face in participating in hackathons.

For her dissertation defense, Hyater-Adams began by reading a poem about her personal struggle to balance her passion for both the arts and physics while simultaneously two dancers interpreted and performed her story.

“I have always been a scientist and an artist, and that intersection has always been important to me,” Hyater-Adams said.

Auguste plans to use what she learned from her doctoral research to encourage African American youth to enter STEM fields. Auguste worked with families to monitor air quality with sensors to identify possible triggers of asthma attacks and other health issues.

“While the PhD is wonderful, my successful outcome will be reaching the kids,” Auguste says. “ I want to reach them by the thousands.”

ATLAS PhD students seek to empower groups not traditionally engaged in engineering.

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Raising the bar

Anonymous — Mon, 06 May 2019 16:43:32 +0000

Raising the bar Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/06/2019 - 10:43

Doug Smith completed six data visualizations for his capstone project, though only one was required. Even after discovering that most of the documentation for one of the JavaScript libraries was written in Chinese, he never gave up. Instead he kept plugging variables into the chart options to find the exact visualization he wanted.

“I like to work as hard as I can,” says Smith, who graduates in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Technology, Arts and Media (TAM) from CU ��«��Ƶ's College of Engineering and Applied Science. The TAM program is housed in the university's ATLAS Institute.

Smith’s project “Reperio,” which was part of a 10-week installation at the Roser ATLAS Center, uses data visualization to “give users insight into their communities and to spark conversations, laughs, and serious consideration about their surroundings,” Smith says. The project uses a Vue.js framework coupled with data visualization tools like D3.js and ECharts to create an interactive web application. The application collects user inputs to questions, such as “What is your birthdate?” which are then fed to a real-time Firestore Database. The other half of the application reads the data from the database and creates a live visualization, displayed so users can see where their answers fit within the population of those who responded.

Aileen Pierce, TAM associate director who taught Smith’s Web Front-End Development and Mobile App Development classes says, “Doug never settled for merely average work.”

“Instead, he consistently pushed himself to work on more challenging projects that went beyond the scope of the assignments,” Pierce says. “He continues to raise the bar for all students.”

Beginnings
Smith has a history of working hard from a young age. He graduated high school when he was 17 to join the Marine Corps. He’s also a self-taught illustrator and painter who sells his paintings and drawings, and he paints murals and occasionally does freelance graphic design work. He’s also the unofficial graphic designer for CU ��«��Ƶ’s Student Veterans Organization.

Born in Telluride, Colo., Smith attended school there until 2010, when he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He subsequently served in the Pacific in the 1st Battalion 12th Marine Regiment as well as a 3rd Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment as a Joint Fires Observer, directing artillery, mortars, naval gunfire and close air support onto their targets.

The TAM Experience
In 2014 Smith returned to Colorado and worked as a snowcat operator for the Telluride Ski Resort until August 2015, when he began attending classes at CU ��«��Ƶ. Initially majoring in computer science, he says he transferred to the engineering school to attend more ATLAS classes, focusing his studies on UI/UX design and web development.

“The coolest thing about ATLAS is that it recognizes that the world is developing at a fast pace,” Smith says. “Instructors are willing to adapt their curriculum on a daily basis to give you the most applicable information, which is priceless.”

In 2018 Smith interned as a UI/UX designer and javascript developer for a ��«��Ƶ company which makes disaster mitigation and prevention data visualization products for organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security.

After his internship, Smith gravitated towards an alternative use of data visualization and created “Reperio.”

“I made the project to test my knowledge of full-stack web development and also to show people that data visualization can leave us feeling more connected,” says Smith. “By using frameworks and realtime databases, Reperio provides a more human connection to a vague concept like ‘data.’”

Upon graduation, Smith plans to continue working for a ��«��Ƶ startup as a front-end web developer.

“Web development in particular is a difficult field to get up to speed in because everything changes daily,” Smith says. “One of the most valuable things TAM taught me is how to search for my own answers.”

View Doug Smith’s artwork on Instagram

TAM grad recognized for strong work ethic

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Found in Space

Anonymous — Mon, 06 May 2019 02:39:14 +0000

Found in Space Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 05/05/2019 - 20:39

Aidan Rafferty has been dreaming about space for as long as he can remember, and that didn’t change when he became an engineering student at CU ��«��Ƶ. Space is a theme for most of the projects he completed in the ATLAS Institute for his Bachelor of Science degree in Technology, Arts and Media (TAM).

After graduating in December 2018, Rafferty began working as an associate system engineer at Northrup Grumman Innovation Systems, where he develops and enhances National Security space tools to support satellite operations for military, commercial and scientific missions.

“The recruiter for my initial Northrup internship looked at my portfolio and was really interested in my work,” Rafferty says. “Of nearly 100 CU ��«��Ƶ resumes, TAM was the only major he was unfamiliar with. It caught his eye.”

The TAM Experience
Immersed in the interdisciplinary TAM program, Rafferty was able to work with faculty and advisors from a wide range of disciplines, allowing him the opportunity to chart his own path. He helped develop textiles with interwoven sensor technology in ATLAS’ Unstable Design Lab; he designed and built ActiveSAT360, an interactive, immersive visualization of thousands of satellites orbiting Earth; he created a virtual reality environment from the perspective of a moon on Saturn; and he made an astrolabe, an ancient instrument used primarily to assist with celestial navigation before the invention of the sextant.

“Joining TAM allowed me to combine my versatile skill set with a creative approach towards aerospace studies, focusing on the human factors in engineering,” he says. “It allowed me to follow my passion, which prepared me in unique ways for the aerospace industry.”

For his capstone project, Rafferty developed Pathos I, utilizing an EEG headset to visualize changes in electrical activity that take place in the brain during meditation.

“I wanted my project to be very TAM-oriented; taking an advanced piece of technology to create an abstract understanding of a difficult topic was very appealing,” he says.

Beginnings
Growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut, Rafferty kept busy and pursued many interests. As a high school student, he volunteered as a soccer referee, taught sailing, founded the school’s engineering club, started a small business tuning and waxing skis, and joined the American Red Cross, becoming a certified disaster services volunteer.

He also attended Space Camp twice, the US Space Academy once, and was invited to attend the US Advanced Space Academy.

He’s also a certified skydiver with 57 jumps under his belt.

While at CU ��«��Ƶ, he joined a fraternity, gave campus tours, raced for the club ski team, attended more concerts than he can count and maintained balance through meditation.

“Aidan was an incredibly hard-working student, and he was an extremely positive influence on every team he joined,” says Matt Bethancourt, senior instructor and director of the TAM program, who taught the class for which Rafferty and two other students made ActiveSAT360. “I was blown away with what the ActiveSAT360 team came up with. It really made the final projects exhibition, Visualizing Space, something special.”

What’s next? Rafferty has his sights set on becoming an astronaut. He’s also excited about the possibilities of space tourism.

“CU ��«��Ƶ gave me a Swiss Army knife-like collection of skills. TAM is really unique,” he said. “Employers may not know what my degree is right away, but when they see what I can do, they get it. The industry recognizes the need for people who have technical skills and the ability to create something completely new with those skills.”

“Creative engineers will thrive in the space industry,” he adds.

What’s Rafferty’s advice for the incoming class of 2019 freshmen? “Follow your passion. Stick to it. Learn things that excite you—that’s where you will really shine.”

Aidan Rafferty has been dreaming about space for as long as he can remember, and that didn’t change when he became an engineering student at CU ��«��Ƶ. This TAM grad’s trajectory brought towards his dream career.

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