10:10 am
Microsoft Teams

Abstract

For years, the engineering profession has addressed the issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in reports, special programs, conferences, webinars, and in many other ways. The major driving forces can be attributed to recent changes in the engineering professional practice ethical codes. For example, the National Society of Professional Engineers stated that it is a fundamental professional obligation of honesty and integrity that “Engineers shall treat all persons with dignity, respect, fairness and without discrimination.” What does this mean, and why should new young engineers care? In this presentation, participants will learn the concept of unconscious bias, examine resources on identifying their own biases, raise awareness of how unconscious biases work, and how they can influence interactions in the workplace.

Bio

Dr. Rivera-Jiménez is currently a Lecturer at the Department of Engineering Education and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida. Her research focuses on evidence-based practices to foster collaborative and inclusive environments in engineering teams. Nationally, she serves as a creator and facilitator of professional development workshops for industry and academia.

10:10 am
Microsoft Teams

Abstract

Robotics is the study of robots interacting in the physical world through sensing, perception, planning, and interacting. However, robotics is about about so much more than just a robot. This presentation will highlight the many aspects of robotics which makes it an intriguing field for people of all ages. First of all, robotics is a wonderful tool for showing connections between science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). Robotics affords multidisciplinary teamwork to enable students to improve professional skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Robotics is ideal for recruiting more people to STEM by getting them excited by the possibilities of what their minds and hands can create. A byproduct of bringing more people to STEM is that robotics can help to diversify the profession. It is extremely important that the STEM community reflect the diversity of the world that we live in because multidisciplinary and diverse teams create the best solutions to problems. Lack of diversity on teams can yield to products that that suffer from bias. There have been several examples of this in the news media recently. Human-robot interaction is the study of understanding, designing and evaluating how humans engage with robots. The future of robotics technology is closely tied to effective and efficient communication between humans and robots. Ideally this communication should be free of gender or racial inequity and bias. This presentation will highlight the various aspects of the field of robotics which makes it a gamechanger in STEM, diversity, equity and society.

Bio

Carlotta Berry is a Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. At Rose, she worked with colleagues to create the multidisciplinary minor in robotics and Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity Program. Her research interests are in engineering education, robotics education and human-robot interaction. She has several publications, grants, and service projects on robotics and diversifying STEM.

Lecture archive

10:10 am
Microsoft Teams

Abstract

Since 2016, Atlas has been changing the idea of what robots can do with YouTube hits such as “What’s new, Atlas?”, where it backflipped its way to 19M views, as well as showcasing its latest dance moves in “Do You Love Me?”. Tune in to this talk to get a glimpse into the mechanical design workflow and key ingredients that have enabled turning science fiction into hardware reality.

Bio

Haink is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Boston Dynamics and a Big 10 graduate (BS PSU, PhD UMN). The most recent version of Atlas, filmed in “Do You Love Me?”, features several of Haink’s designs (rugged battery, 5-DOF pelvis, hydraulic power unit, printed manifolds). Haink values creative design and looks for ways to use simple geometry to perform multiple functions.

Lecture archive