iFoundry students and stakeholders might be interested to read the 4 January 2010 Cory Levy blog.  Cory visited UIUC in October 2009 as the first guest speaker in the World of Work (WOW) Student Development Series co-sponsored by iFoundry, Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC), Engineering Career Services (ECS), and Undergraduate Programs Office.  To read the blog titled, “So, you think I should go to engineering school?” visit here.

Domenico Grasso and Melody Burkins (University of Vermont) have edited a new book entitled Holistic Engineering: Beyond Technology which, according to the publisher,

is a compilation of coordinated and focused essays from world leaders in the engineering profession who are dedicated to a transformation of engineering education and practice. The contributors define a new and holistic approach to education and practice that captures the creativity, interdisciplinarity, complexity, and adaptability required for the profession to grow and truly serve global needs.

More information about the book is available on the publisher website (here).   iFoundry co-director David E. Goldberg has the full-length version of his essay, “The Missing Basics and Other Philosophical Reflections for the Transformation of Engineering Education” starting at page 145 of the volume.  A full table of contents is available (here).

In December 2009, Materials Science and Engineering freshmen and iFoundry student, Jaime Keller, joined a group of National University of Singapore Civil Engineering students who traveled to Balai Karangan, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The overseas community service project, called Operation Orion, built a plant that can sort aggregates as well as paved a geo-textile gravel footpath for the children going to attend classes.  More information about Operation Orion may be found here.

Applications are available for the Northwestern University 2010 Summer REU in Nanotechnology.  The application deadline for this 9-week NU-REU Program is February 15 and will offer you:

Full-time work on a nanotechnology research project

Access to world-class equipment and facilities

Research seminars and field trips

Opportunity to enhance your public speaking and technical writing skills

Opportunity to submit your paper for possible publication and be part of the peer-review process

Participation in team events like the summer picnic, and explore Chicago

For more information, eligibility requirements, or to download an application visit here.

iFoundry students may be interested a 5-week summer program offered through the Southeast Asia Studies Department at NUS.   The program has 2 modules: (1) Southeast Asia in Context and (2) Introduction to Southeast Asian History which includes a 2 week field trip to Thailand and Cambodia.  More information can be found here.

iFoundry students and others may be interested in a – one time only – 8 week course – MS/INFO 391, Digital Media and Virtual Worlds which meets 19 January 2010 to 12 March 2010 (half-semester) from 9-10:50am Wednesdays in Room G24 Foreign Languages Building.

The course focuses on New Media, Culture and Society (see MS 326), but with a focus on small group discussion with students and additional course content on contemporary digital and Internet culture such as twitter, viral marketing, memes, virtual worlds and social media.  For undergraduates only.

The 2010 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology or fPET-2010 (to be held as a one-day intensive event on 9-10 May 2010, Sunday Evening-Monday, at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO) has extended the deadline for abstract submission until 15 January 2010 (Friday).

An extended call for papers is available as a pdf file (here) or online (here).  Inquiries about fPET-2010 can be sent to co-chairs Diane Michelfelder (michelfelder@macalester.edu) or Dave Goldberg (deg@illinois.edu).

iFoundry is a sponsor of fPET-2010.

iFoundry students and leadership will meet on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, from 5-7pm in 106B1 Engineering Hall (1308 West Green St) to hold elections of iChairs for the spring 2010 semester.  iChairs serve as the team leader and organizer for each of the four iFoundry student self-selected interest-driven teams.  Details with regard to the iCommunity and elections may be found in the iCommunity handbook here.

The Illinois Engineering Freshman Experience (iEFX), formerly piloted by iFoundry, now has a website.  iEFX is designed to transform the first year of Engineering at Illinois and the experience is built upon coursework, projects, and a community that extends past the boundaries of the classroom.  The program will be available to a portion of the 2010 engineering freshman.  To view the iEFX website, live as of 21 January 2010, visit here or on the right side of this site under the heading “iFoundry related.”

iFoundry welcomed back the iCommunity on Wednesday, January 20^th during the weekly iCommunity meeting. iTeams met for the first time since the holiday break and elected new iChairs for the spring semester. The new leaders are as follows: AED elected co-chairs Matt Johnson and Jeremy Kaiser, EI elected iChair Islam Sharabash, ESS elected iChair Peter Mounche and SSE elected iChair Ramy Cohen Masri. Congratulations to our new leaders and we are looking forward to another great semester with iFoundry!