iFoundry has always looked to recent research in science, psychology, and humanities to help us understand ways to improve teaching and learning in engineering. Resent research in neuroscience might change the way students can approach college. The University of Illinois is a rich and varied learning environment. The focus of this environment is to help you develop your skills and talents in ways that support who you are and who you want to be. Unfortunately, this purpose is often lost for students in the frenzied effort to balance the demands of classes, study, work, and leisure activities.

Recent research points to how human beings are hardwired to learn. We learn from our surrounding environment whatever it takes to survive, thrive, and dominate. Neuroscientists recently discovered what we as humans have always known instinctively, that the ability to pursue interests voluntarily in an enriched and varied environment stimulates the brain. Research has shown that the brain actually changes at biochemical and molecular levels. Neurons fire more efficiently; the ability of the brain to regenerate and repair itself increases, and these changes positively affect learning.

Think about how this science might change the way you approach college. Remember as you matriculate through requirements and strive to make good grades that your talents and abilities are singular. What interests or comes easily to a friend may be boring or difficult for you. Differences do not diminish your talents, abilities, or future potential. In fact, differences enhance your value. The most important thing is to develop your talent and interests.

Changing your mindset leads the way to some important practical ways to thrive in this environment:
• Practice finding the things that interest you in a course that is difficult or boring.
• Consider how content applies to your talents, abilities, and interests.
• Seek out others whose interests align with yours.
• Ask faculty and staff for ideas and direction.

You are fortunate because you have enrolled in a university where talent is abundant and opportunities vary. As you take these approaches, it will bring more satisfaction and enjoyment to your college years—it’s scientifically proven!

- Judy Sunderman, iFoundry Educational Consultant

Community is an abstract concept that, while being fairly easy to define, is difficult to actively implement. It is centered on the even more abstract idea of fellowship, or relationships based on common interests, activity, feelings and experiences. In order to sustain a strong community, you must develop strong fellowship.

At this point in time a comprehensive community with active fellowship is missing in the College of Engineering. Right now departments (i.e. Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering) are seemingly siloed and rarely act interdepartmentally. My main question as an undergraduate student in Aerospace Engineering is the following: Given the evolving interdisciplinary culture in industry, shouldn’t our college experience prepare us for that? I would argue that it should. Not only is my coursework siloed but my friendships and interactions are as well.

As a college we focus on this lack of community and make the development of one as a priority. That is currently what iFoundry is on the cusp of doing. iFoundry is attempting to develop and become the aluminiferous ether that fills the vacuum between departments. It wants to promote interdepartmental interactions centered on common goals and aspirations to help us interact as a college rather than 12 individual departments. The goal is for the College of Engineering to work more fluidly, allowing communal ideas and better solutions to problems to be shared. Interestingly enough, many departmental problems have already been addressed and solved by other departments. However, our current culture lacks the transparency needed to actively acknowledge these problems. While the exact structure and implementation needed to facilitate this fellowship-guided community are still in the works, a conscious, driven effort is underway to develop it. I strongly believe that as the world’s culture changes, so should our approach to education. As the world becomes interconnected via the IT revolution, so should the College of Engineering.

-Ryan Smoot
Senior, Aerospace Engineering

Recently, Lauraleigh Heffner, a long-time iFoundry student leader, won Pitchfest 2012, hosted by the Technology Entrepreneur Center. “One thing they really stress with their competition is all you need is an idea. And that’s exactly what I had.”

Watch the interview here.

Her winning idea? A non-profit called “Live to Dive to Live.”

Live to Dive to Live “will develop and produce low cost scuba diving equipment for communities that rely on scuba diving as their main source of income. In addition to producing this product, we would go down to these underpriveleged communities across the world and educate them on how to use this equipment properly.”

Right now, her idea is focused on Honduras’ Mosquito coast, where many of the divers there dive without gauges, which greatly increases their chance of death or injury. “In the future, we also hope to look into Indonesia. A lot of people there are scuba diving and they don’t have enough money to buy an air compressor to put air in a tank but they use tires for cars and they fill them with air. We want to make sure that they are using air that is still safe to breath.”

The idea began to percolate after a trip to Honduras a few years ago, where she learned how to scuba dive, and gained first hand knowledge of the problems facing many of the divers there.

“iFoundry has made a really big difference for me. There have been some key people in iFoundry who have served as my mentors, especially with this new project.”

You might be surprised to learn that technical skills do not show up on the list of the top 5 skills or qualities employers seek in candidates.  While technical skills are critical for success on the job, they are “expected” so employers will assume that you can handle the technical aspects of a position – especially if you come from a competitive college or university.

So what do employers look for?  The order may differ by company, but employers consistently say they want candidates who excel at building effective relationships, at working in teams, as leaders, at communicating, at problem-solving, and who demonstrate a strong work ethic.  Basically, they figure if you have these skills, you can learn the more specific technical skills for the job.

What does this mean for you?  Academics are very important, because if you don’t have technical skills, you won’t even enter the competition.  But assuming you are performing at least relatively well academically, look for opportunities to develop your professional skills.  Join student organizations and take on a leadership role.  If you see something that you think should be change, take the initiative and do it.  Think about ways to practice and improve your communication skills.  Take advantage of opportunities to practice problem solving and design skills.  And be sure to go to recruiting events so you can develop your professional skills and start building a network.  It may feel awkward to interact with employers at first, but the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it, and that will help a lot when you’re ready to look for a job.

Don’t forget there are lots of resources available to you at the University of Illinois.  The Illinois Leadership Center is a great program to consider, and Engineering Career Services can assist with your career plans and job search – these are just two examples.  Good luck!

Sarah Zehr is an Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering and Director of Engineering Career Services

Sunset Anguish Extractor. Rusty Friendship Humidifier in Oil. Guilty Feelings Grinder. Wasted Years Resignifyer, Deintellectualizer, Transconverter of Undefined Moods.

From March 27- March 31, 2012, we are pleased to host Federico Joselevich, technology artist, creator of the Los Aparatos major technology installations above, and long-time teacher of digital and electronic art on the Fine Arts Faculty in the National University of La Plata Argentina and Arts National Institute (IUNA).

Federico is a creator, technologist, master teacher, and engineer whose large-scale installations provoke and challenge our self-understanding of who we are as makers, technology-users, and engineers.

With poetry and wit, metal and creativity, digital magic and technology, his work forces audiences to reflect more deeply on the great themes of man and machine—how we use technology to “solve” our problems; how we interact with the material world; and how art, machines, and engineering create (and sometimes subtract) from meaning in the world.

He uses play, irony, and an interactive laboratory approach in his teachings, workshops, and presentations, and will be engaging with our iFoundry community in the following ways:

Public Lecture Thursday, March 29, 5:30pm, 1404 Siebel Center

A few steps in the in the way between Technology and Art.

There are several examples of engineers creating big art installations or artists becoming engineers. In this public lecture, we will be surfing through different examples and approaches on how the connection between art and technology can be established. Go here for more information.

A full-scale workshop in the FabLab on Saturday, March 31, from 9-5

The Apparatus (Los Aparatos)

Had you ever wanted a Psychological Processes Accelerator? Perhaps a Guilty-Feeling Grinder? An Inopportune Verborragia’s Silencer? This is your opportunity. In this workshop we will be not just discussing but actually making a connection between art and technology.

Classroom presentations March 28 & 29

Homo Sapiens. Homo ludens. Humans as knowers; humans as players, artists, designers, and technologists. For several years, iFoundry workshops and conversations have explored the complex cross-connections between making, creating, engineering, and designing. Our friends and collaborators in the FabLab (cucfablab.org), and in DesignMatters (designmatters.art.uiuc.edu) have been a key part of this work. This visit will continue our Inquiries in Engineering Education series and be followed in 2012-13 by two subsequent workshops to deepen our conversations and refine our practices in engineering education.

We are delighted to continue playing with major ideas in the art-design-engineering realms and to bring a new focus to the often blurry boundaries and complex cross-connections between our colleges and fields in the University. Please look for future communications and invitations to Federico Joselevich’s visit.

Questions from all interested individuals and groups are invited by contacting iFoundry Fellow Betty Barrett at bb1@illinois.edu or iFoundry Coordinator Amy Koester at akoester@illinois.edu, 244-1816.

________________________________________________________________________

About Federico Joselevich

Federico Joselevich is a Technology Artist and Developer who focuses on the “tiny line” that joins (or divides) technology and the culture. He has helped co-found, and continues to engage with, multiple art collectives, and has exhibited projects all over the world – from the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA) to the Mediahouse for the Massachussets Institute of Technology – IaaC. His work has been exhibited in events & festivals internationally, and a number of his digital installations can be viewed on his website (www.ludic.cc)

Among his most notable projects are Passus Exilii and Leve Retina, the first electronic literary magazine in Argentina (1992-1995). A well-respected teacher in the areas of digital and electronic art, he on the Fine Arts Faculty in the National University of La Plata Argentina and Arts National Institute (IUNA).

Sponsored by iFoundry and Art+Design

Special opportunity: TED Live will be available to a small group of our friends and colleagues Tuesday Feb. 28 – Friday, March 2. It will be broadcast at the I Hotel and Conference Center (1900 S. First Street, Champaign, in the UI Research Park). (room details to come)

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design, and has become a worldwide phenomenon! This is a great opportunity to watch phenomenal TED presenters LIVE.

Questions? Contact Amy Koester at akoester@illinois.edu or David Weightman at diw@illinois.edu.

Tuesday, Feb. 28

SESSION 1: The Observatory

1:00 – 2:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Brian Greene Physicist

Sarah Parcak Space archaeologist, TED Fellow

Paul Gilding Writer

Peter Diamandis Futurist

Susan Cain  Author, Quiet Revolutionary

SESSION 2: The Parlor

4:15 – 6:00pm

Hosted by June Cohen

Speakers:

Quixotic Performance ensemble

Andrew Stanton Filmmaker

Reuben Margolin Kinetic sculptor

Billy Collins Poet

Michael Tilson Thomas Musician, Conductor

SESSION 3: The Dinner Party

7:00 – 8:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Rebecca Newberger Philosopher, Novelist & Linguist

Goldstein + Steven Pinker Psychologist

Jonathan Haidt Social psychologist

Atul Gawande Surgeon and journalist

Julie Burstein Writer and radio producer

Wednesday, Feb. 29

SESSION 4: The Lab

10:30am – 12:15pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Henrik Scharfe Roboticist

Regina Dugan Director of DARPA

Jack Choi Technologist

Marco Tempest Techno-illusionist

Donald Sadoway Materials engineer

Vijay Kumar Roboticist

SESSION 5: The Earth

1:00 – 2:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Karen Bass Natural history filmmaker

Sharon Beals Photographer

Wade Davis Anthropologist, ethnobotanist

James Hansen Climatologist

T. Boone Pickens Entrepreneur and energy theorist

Civilians Investigate Theater Theater company

SESSION 6: The Crowd

4:15 – 6:00pm

Hosted by June Cohen

Speakers:

Cameron Carpenter Organist

Reid Hoffman Social entrepreneur

Lior Zoref Crowdsourcing advocate

Jen Pahlka Code activist

Frank Warren Secret keeper

Reggie Watts Vocalist, beatboxer, comedian

SESSION 7: The City

7:00 – 8:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

JR Street artist

Edward Glaeser Economist

Eduardo Paes Mayor of Rio de Janeiro

Suja Lowenthal Vice mayor of Long Beach

Mama Foundation for the Arts: Gospel for Teens Choir Teen choir

Thursday, March 1

SESSION 8: The Courtroom

1:00 – 2:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Jim Stengel Marketer

Sherry Turkle Cultural analyst

Tali Sharot Cognitive neuroscientist

Bryan Stevenson Public-interest lawyer

SESSION 9: The Design Studio

4:15 – 6:00pm

Guest curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell

Speakers:

Chip Kidd Graphic Designer

Liz Diller Architect

David Kelley Designer, educator

Thomas P. Campbell Museum director

American Ballet Theatre Dance company

John Hodgman Expert

John Hockenberry Journalist

SESSION 10: The Campfire

7:00 – 8:45pm

Hosted by June Cohen

Speakers:

Jared Ficklin Visualizer

Joshua Foer Writer

Philippe Petit High-wire artist

Jon Ronson Writer and filmmaker

Abigail Washburn Clawhammer banjo player

Friday, March 2

SESSION 11: The Classroom

10:30am – 12:15pm

Hosted by Kelly Stoetzel and Rives

Speakers:

Bill Nye Science guy

Ainissa Ramirez Science evangelist

John Bohannon + Black Label Movement Science writer + Dance troupe

Al Vernacchio Sexuality educator, teacher

Kate Messner Author, educator, speaker

Angie Miller Language arts teacher

Awele Makeba Storyteller, teaching artist

Chris Anderson (TED) TED Curator

Aaron Reedy Teacher

Rafe Esquith Educator

SESSION 12: The Moment

1:00 – 2:45pm

Hosted by Chris Anderson

Speakers:

Sebastian Wernicke Statistics whiz

Cesar Kuriyama Video maker

Leymah Gbowee Peace activist, Nobelist

Brene Brown Vulnerability researcher

Many people either downplay leadership roles in organizations and take their guidance for granted, or feel that they are not suited to be a leader.  The goal of an Illinois Engineering degree isn’t just to graduate competent engineers, but engineers with the ability to lead others.

Leadership occurs on many levels, even within a formal organization.  The skill of listening, and doing so with an ear for empathy, is probably the most important tool for leading others effectively and is far more important than your ability to speak.  It’s really difficult to say the right thing when you have no idea where someone is coming from.  For example, the ENG 198: Aspirations To Leadership class stresses the importance of listening to leadership.

Through my current activities and aspirations, I am working towards a stronger emphasis on project and communications based classes that teach skills often over-looked in the traditional curriculum.  I really hope to help iFoundry develop resources to better serve greater numbers of students, and I am interested in working with other students to help develop these ideas. You can reach me at akagarw2@illinois.edu.

By Akash Agarwal

Akash is studying General Engineering as part of the Class of 2015.  He’s currently running for Senate in which he hopes to represent General, Industrial and Civil Engineers.

Federico Puiggrós, iFoundry guest, will be visiting UIUC March 27 – April 1, 2012. He is a technology artist, and through various seminars and workshops, will help faculty and staff see engineering and design in new ways. Mark your calendars!

Federico teaches at the National University of La Plata and the Arts National Institute, both in Argentina.

Last Friday, the College of Engineering based educational incubator iFoundry hosted a Focus Group in which their team met with student leaders from both the College of Engineering and Liberal Arts.   The iFoundry team, known for their innovative educational initiatives and pilot programs, organized the student led session to discuss ways to better foster a new student centered and student led community on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.  “The newness of iFoundry leads to students really wanting to get involved – this is not something that’s 85 years old and has been continuing to do the same thing since day one,” said Ryan, one of the Engineering student leaders at the focus group.  This iFoundry initiative is something that will lead to a more collaborative environment across all disciplines, encouraging students to take an active role in innovating the curriculum, teaching methods and campus communities of the future.

Engineering firms are facing the challenge of filling positions, but not finding enough engineers with experience or attracting young engineers to apply. “Engineering firms need to invest more in educating engineers, if only for the selfish benefit of increasing the number of experienced, young engineers many firms are searching for,” says Gust Gianos, author of an article in Consulting-Specifying Engineer, an online magazine.

One point made by the author is that students majoring in engineering need greater motivation than money to stay in the field of engineering. Many leave their engineering major in favor of the business and management fields. Engineering programs need to focus more on what matters to the millennial generation: making a difference and doing something they feel passionate about.

Charles L. Tucker III, Alexander Rankin professor and associate dean in the College of Engineering at UIUC was quoted in the article and spoke to this point. “Many students want to make the world a better place, often on the environmental side in programs like Engineers Without Borders. These programs often do not have enough spaces for students,” says Dean Tucker.

To learn more about the changes in engineering education, and what industry can do to attract the applicants they’re looking for, click here to see the article in full.