Guest Blogger: Nicole Frisk, WISE House community advisor

Today's post features Nicole Frisk, community advisor for the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) House Living Learning Community in Frontier Hall. Learn more about the U of M's Living Learning Communities on the Housing and Residential Life Web site.

In many ways, the WISE community is just like any other in the U of M residence halls. We hang out, explore Minneapolis, and hold social events such as birthday parties, movie nights, and other fun get-togethers.

In addition to the typical residence hall feel, there are some important differences about the WISE community. First of all, we all come here with something in common: Our goal of becoming professionals in the fields of science and engineering. Many WISE residents find that others in this community are more understanding and sensitive to their academic and study needs due to this shared experience.

Also, many WISE residents take similar classes, so there are always study groups and friends to help you out right where you live. Finally, as a community advisor, I try to tailor our hall’s offered programs to match the academic interests of WISE students by planning events that focus on science and engineering, such as related tours, career planning info sessions, and more.

The WISE community offers a fun environment that is conducive to academic success, strong and lasting friendships, and a good sense of direction as you continue your education.

-Nicole

Don't forget!

Tomorrow is the big day -- the December 15 priority application deadline!

If you are wondering about the status of your application, we have a great online tool that you can use to track your application's progress called Application Tracker. You may also want to check out our list of frequently asked questions about completing an application for admission. If you are a high school senior and you are interested in the U of M, be sure to submit your application right away. Applications received after the December 15 deadline are reviewed on a space-available basis and admission is more competive.

As always, if you have any questions you are more than welcome to contact the Office of Admissions at 612-625-2008 or 1-800-752-1000.

Stay tuned...this week, I will have a guest blogger! IT student and Women  in Science and Engineering (WISE) Community Advisor Nicole Frisk will be writing about the WISE Living Learning Community located in Frontier Hall for women interested in technical studies.

Dani

What is your college experience going to be?

A really important part of being in college and successfully working towards a degree in engineering, physical sciences or mathematics (outside of going to class!) is getting involved within the IT community.

Students in the Institute of Technology have the opportunities to expand their horizons, discover new passions, and engage their minds in new innovations everyday outside of the classroom.  

Beyond the classroom you can:

Get involved in award-winning student groups like Engineers Without Borders, Solar Vehicle Project, or IAESTE - the International Association for hte Exchnage of Students for Technical Experience. (In other words, this student group helps you travel the globe to earn on-the-job experience through a technical internship!)

Gain international experience through IT's Learning Abroad Program. Choose from among hundreds of programs (ranging from 3 weeks to 1 year) available in Africa, Australia, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Europe where you can enhance your cross-cultural skills, language ability or professional experience!

Explore research in topics that you find interesting. As a student you can participate in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to work with a faculty member on a research topic that you help develop. This isn't the only way to get involved -- talking with your advisers and professors can also open doors to other research opportunities on campus.  By doing this, I landed an awesome job as an Undergraduate Research Assistant working at the Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) Lab helping to build components of life-sized structures to see what happens to them during extreme events like earthquakes. You can check out a video of what I worked on here!  Below is a picture of the lab:

Dani

p.s. Remember, the December 15, 2009, priority application date is fast approaching!!! If you have not already, be sure to submit your complete application today.

Update: Inventive Women in the Institute of Technology

Last week I posted a blog about the upcoming Minnesota History Center exhibit featuring amazing women faculty members in IT entitled 'Inventive Women in the Institute of Technology'.  Well, this week I have an exciting update!

The Institute of Technology designed a Web site that went live today solely dedicated to the photographic work of Nancy G. Johnson and to these inspirational IT women!  In addition to the black and white portraits by Johnson, each faculty member has written about their experiences - What motivated them to explore technical studies?  How do they impact the Institute of Technology?  What thrilling research are they conducting?

Photo source
Photo credit: Nancy G. Johnson

Johnson aspired to capture these women in their research environments to inspire students just like you to consider studying these technical fields. Check out these amazing photos and personal stories: Inventive Women.

Dani

Physics of football

Earlier this month, I wrote about Professor Jim Kakalios and his exciting Emmy win for the video 'The Science of Watchmen.'  I just learned that Kakalios isn't the only physics professor applying their knowledge of science to popular culture. 

In the video below, IT Professor Dan Dahlberg breaks down a tackle from the Minnesota-Cal State game where Gopher receiver Eric Decker gets slammed into end zone by Cal's Sean Cattouse during a touchdown catch. Professor Dahlberg explains how much force Decker withstood when he took the hit. Check out the physics behind football by watching this fascinating video:



And the greatest thing about it all is that after withstanding that tackle and gees enforced by it, Decker still managed to keep the ball!

You can catch professor Dan Dahlberg in action with the Physics Force in one of two free, highly entertaining public shows: 7 p.m. Thursday, January 7, and 2 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2010, at Northrop Auditorium, 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis.

The shows are coming up soon, so mark your calendars!

Dani

Did you know...?

I am constantly browsing the Institute of Technology Web site to learn more about what is going on in IT.  I feel that I can never keep up with all of the awesome events and opportunities going on within the college--there are so many great things happening! 

While prowling for exciting, cutting-edge information to share with you, I came across a really fun part of the IT Web site called 'Did you know?'  This page is full of information about past innovations and advances made by Institute of Technology students, alums, and faculty!  For instance, Did you know...

• James "Crash" Ryan was not a racecar driver--he was a mechanical engineering professor and U of M engineer who created the first retractable, locking automobile seat belts and the "black box" flight recorder.
• The "etascope" is an assembly of lenses and mirrors that funnels natural light to the bottom floor of the Civil Engineering building. The bottom is 110 ft. below the surface.
• The U of M is home to Alpha Sigma Kappa, the first sorority in America for women in technical studies.

James "Crash" Ryan, IT professor and inventor of the retractable seatbelt

Institue of Technology students, graduates and faculty have made a huge impact in industry and in everyday life.  Just think...student groups that you can become involved in, medical devices that are used internationally, and even the ancestor of seatbelts that we use every day have a connection to the Institute of Technology!

Visit this page to learn more about the history of IT!

Dani

Inventive Women in the Institute of Technology

If you get the chance to visit the Minnesota History Center in Saint Paul, be sure to stop by and take a look at their brand-new exhibit, called "Inventive Women: Protraits of Scientists and Engineers from the University of Minnesota." 

This exhibit is a collection of black and white portraits by Nancy G. Johnson, a communications specialist in the Institute of Technology's Department of Mechanical Engineering, who notes, "There are so many problems to solve, so many things that need to be invented. Benjamin Franklin said, 'Energy and persistence conquer all things.' It will take all of us--men and women--to come up with the ideas and solutions to help our world flourish."  

This is a great opportunity to get an inside look into the minds of some of the great women faculty that are behind new innovation and research at the University of Minnesota!  The exhibit will run from November 27th, 2009 to July 4, 2010, with a public exhibit reception on December 1, 2009 from 5-8 p.m. at the Minnesota History Center. More information is on the Minnesota History Center Web site.

I can't wait to go--I hope you get the opportunity to check it out, too!

Dani

Check out the IT Student Dashboard

The Institute of Technology (IT) Student Dashboard gives you tools to succeed (and have fun!) at the University of Minnesota. On the Dashboard, you can link to your favorite Web sites, find out the latest news or upcoming events, check out the Northrup Mall Webcam, see what others are saying about the University on Twitter, or even discover a new restaurant.  It really is everything you need in one place!

Current Institute of Technology students asked for a site like this. IT listened and made it happen! This Web site was developed for IT students by an IT student, with input from college staff and student leaders. The goal is to provide the links and information current students need on a daily basis on one, easy-to-use Web page.

Did I mention that you can even customize the links?!

Dani

Out-of-this world scholarship program

Three-time space shuttle astronaut Col. Fred Gregory visited campus recently to give a public talk and present two Institute of Technology engineering students with prestigious $10,000 scholarships from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).

Gregory talked to the group of about 200 students, most of them from a freshman physics class, about his dangerous days as a research and test pilot flying his jet into the worst of storms. In fact, once he flew a Mach 1 just 50 feet above a large lake in the Midwest.

"I was young, so I was willing to take a lot of chances," he said.

He also talked about his days of Air Force training, practicing procedures during potential air raids from the Russians during the Cold War. "We would hide under the tables to practice protecting ourselves," Gregory said.

Later in his career when he had a chance to meet Russian cosmonauts, he found out that the Russians did similar air raid drills.

"Why would you practice that?" he asked the cosmonaut.

"Because you were going to bomb us," the cosmonaut said.

"Well, we thought you were going to bomb us!" Gregory replied.

"At that moment, I realized we were really just the same," Gregory said. "Solving today's problems takes an international, cooperative solution. There is no 'us' and 'them.' I hope that the young people of today can take that approach," he added.

Gregory also shared stories of his three times in space. When asked by a student whether he preferred being the pilot or the commander of the space shuttle, Gregory quickly answered that being the commander was better.

"When you are the commander, you can use your commander voice," he said with a laugh in a deep authoritative tone.

After his talk, Gregory presented scholarships to Cole Kazemba, an aerospace engineering and mechanics senior, and Rebecca Jo Szarkowski, a biomedical engineering senior, who are two of only 18 students nationwide to receive the scholarship. The University of Minnesota was the only university to have more than one recipient.

The U of M is one of only 19 partner schools in the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. U of M students have received more than $150,000 in scholarship since the program was established in 1984.

Physics professor wins Emmy!

Professors at the University of Minnesota not only teach Institute of Technology students important physics concepts like acceleration, gravity, electromagnetism and theories of relativity – they participate in Emmy Award-winning videos, too!

Physics professor Jim Kakalios was tapped by Warner Bros. as a science consultant for the popular comic book movie, “Watchmen," and participated in a University News Service video "The Science of Watchmen," which looks at his involvement with the film and the physics behind the movie’s extraordinary characters.

This YouTube video has received more than 1.5 million views, making it one of the most widely viewed videos ever in higher education, and it also won a regional Emmy Award in the "Advanced Media: Arts/Entertainment" category.

Click here to watch the video!

Dani

Online Game Puts You in Control of Traffic

Have you ever sat at a stoplight and thought, "Who controls the traffic lights?" or "How do they decide when the light should change?" or most importantly "Why is there so much traffic?!"

Now you can try your hand at controlling traffic with this fun (and sometime frustrating) online game created by the Institute of Technology’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute. "Gridlock Buster" allows you to use the tools and ideas that transportation engineers use in everyday life to try your hand at solving the traffic-gridlock blues.

Learn more about the game and give it a go...but watch out for the "frustration meter." I learned from experience that the angry drivers in this game will start honking if you keep them waiting too long!

U of M Places 5th in 2009 Solar Decathalon

Last month, the University of Minnesota contended in the first-ever international competition of its kind hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy – the 2009 Solar Decathlon! Just twenty college and university teams from across the world went to Washington D.C. to erect the solar houses that they have been working on since December of 2007. The U of M team took fifth! What an incredible and rewarding feat, especially for a first-time entry.

This international competition brings top colleges together not only to compete, but also to increase awareness and the science of solar-integrated housing – challenging students to "design, build, and operate" the most aesthetically pleasing and green solar-powered house.

Take a virtual tour of the house to see why the U of M’s Icon House is among one of the best in the world!

For more, check out these awesome videos:
Minnesota Daily Solar Decathalon Video
WCCO News Solar Decathalon Video

And read more on the U of M Solar Decathalon Web site:
http://www.solardecathlon.umn.edu/

-Dani

Allow me to introduce myself...

Hi everyone! My name is Dani Berry and I am the freshman admissions counselor for the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I started this blog as a way to share with you some of the exciting things that are happening at the Institute of Technology (IT) and to give you an inside look at what it is like to be an IT student. On this blog, you'll find:

• Stories about IT students and alumni
• Important dates to remember for admission, housing, and more
• Great opportunities available to U of M students that will help you achieve your goals and dreams
• Insights about my experience as a former IT student

Before I sign off for today, I thought I would post this Q&A about myself so that you can get to know me a little better. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you, so I suppose it is only fair that I share some facts about myself, too!

Fun facts about me

Most memorable U of M experience: Going to football games and sitting with all of my fellow Gopher fans in the student section.

Favorite place to study: I loved studying in Walter Library because it's so beautiful--you can't get much more luxurious than goldleaf and hand-painted ceilings!

Favorite book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Favorite music: Anything that gets my foot tapping from classic rock to country

Favorite movie: Children of Men

Favorite campus restaurant: Chick-fil-A in Coffman Memorial Union. I'm from the South, which is where this restaurant was started, so whenever I was homesick I would eat there!

Campus involvement: I served as president and vice president of Alpha Sigma Kappa-Women in Technical Studies. It is the first social sorority for women interested in mathematics, science, engineering and architecture and was started here at the U of M in 1989!

Pets: A Calico cat named Lila and a Jack Russell/Rat Terrier Mix, Sid Vicious

I hope you find this blog a great resource to learn about IT as your explore college options. Feel free to leave comments on the blog or contact me directly at berr0188@umn.edu.

I can't wait to hear from you!

-Dani