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robotics studio combines science and art to make magic The
study of robotics often ends in testy competitions
pitting machine against machine, all doing the same
thing: say, tossing a ball into a hoop. But Wellesley
students develop a different class of robots. These
mechanical marvels are part science, part art, and
entirely individual. Wellesley's
Robotic Design Studio produces engineering with a real
imagination. Taught during January Wintersession, the
course introduces students to engineering principles as
they design and assemble robots using LEGO parts,
sensors, motors and tiny computers. They learn
fundamental skills by studying and modifying a simple
robot known as SciBorg. Then, working in small teams,
they design and build their own robots for display at a
Robot Exhibition. These projects tie together aspects of
a surprisingly wide range of disciplines, including
computer science, physics, math, biology, psychology,
engineering and art. The
robots are limited only by the minds that envision them.
In Wellesley's "hall of fame," for example, on display in
the Science Center and on the web, you can see a robotic
"Wizard of Oz,"complete with falling house, dancing
munchkins and a dying witch; a Godzilla who goes up
against an equally robotic building; and "A Day in the
Park" with automated twittering birds, girl on a swing,
fish swimming in a pond and a puppet show. The
Robotics Design Studio's 33 students showed off their
creations Thursday, Jan. 24, at an event drawing hundreds
of spectators, including local schoolchildren. One
key to the success of the class is its emphasis on
creativity, not competition. "Our
exhibition is non-competitive, unlike most robotic
contests," said Franklyn Turbak, computer science, who
teaches the course with physics professor Robbie Berg.
"Students show their creativity in a way that is not
typically allowed in a competitive event. The course is
based on a learning theory called constructionism. The
idea is, people learn best when they are actively
involved in creating things they care about." "We're introducing students to the ideas of engineering," Berg said. "It's something that is typically not a part of a liberal-arts education. But you can learn a lot by building things that interest you."For more information, including photos and videos of robots, go to the online robotic museum at http://cs.wellesley.edu/rds/rds02/museum.html. alumnae to share business savvy at career events Students
will learn about careers in business at two events in
which Wellesley alumnae who are leaders in the business
world share their hard-earned knowledge. "At a time of economic uncertainty, an extraordinary resource lies in the generosity of the Business Leadership Council sharing their expertise and talent," said Joanne Murray, director, Center for Work and Service. On Friday, Feb. 1, from 6-8:30 pm in McAfee Dining Hall, Wellesley's Business Leadership Council will present a panel discussion, "How I Succeeded in Business." Participants will hear career stories from BLC members and take part in a question-and-answer session. On Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 am-4 pm in the Clapp Library Lecture Room, a workshop, "Exploring Career Options in Business: Finding the Right Place For You," features Marilyn Twomey Smith '70, vice president, Allmerica Financial; Bunny Winter '70, retired vice president, Coca-Cola Co.; Patricia Morrill '68, president, Morrill Associates Inc.; and Elaine Rigas '94, human resources, edocs Inc., offering a variety of business advice. Participants must preregister for these events in the Center for Work and Service, Green Hall, room 441. Did you know the campus has its own online weather report? If you are wondering whether to wear a hat or take an umbrella when you leave the classroom or office, go online to http://www.wellesley.edu/Weather/weather.html. Click on Wellesley College Weather for current temperature, windchill, rainfall and averages for today and yesterday. For more weather information, there are the links for WCVB Weather Center 5, Interactive Weather, CNN Weather, Weather Underground and Weathernet WeatherCams. glories
of the winter landscape This
small, thornless tree features white blossoms in the
spring. "The bright red fruit persists throughout the
winter and provides food for birds,"Himmelman says. It is
ideal for small yards, and "sunny sites with well-drained
soil provide the best growing conditions for them,"he
adds."Local nurseries should carry it." Hawthorns
are found all over campus, such as the east side of the
Davis Museum: "The trees in the evergreens above the
parking spots are hawthorns, likely Winter King ones
too," he said. Another winter brightener is Ilex verticillata, or common winterberry. It can be seen around campus, including next to a cluster of rhododendrons at the northwest corner of Paramecium Pond. "It's a very smart combination!" Himmelman said. "This species can grow 10 to 12 feet in height. Some of the smaller cultivars are seen at the entrance to the Science Center and the eastern entrance to the College off Route 16. Compare it to the evergreen hollies in the botanic garden on the north side of walkway leading to Fiske House, the ones with the sharply crenate glossy green leaves and red fruit. Many cultivars of the deciduous species are available in the nursery trade. Fruit color ranges from bright red to crimson, orange-red and yellow." Both deciduous and evergreen hollies are great plants for winter. So enjoy the true beauties of the season. two are named marshall scholars Claudia Veritas' 02 and Marisa Van Saanen '01 are two of 40 Americans awarded Marshall Scholarships to study at a British university next year. They are the 10th and 11th Wellesley students to win the honor. Veritas, majoring in political science, is captain of the varsity lacrosse team and Conference Player of the Year two years in a row. After completing sociology studies at Oxford University, she plans to become a child advocate. "I am devoted to improving children's lives on a global scale," she said. Van Saanen will study international relations. Her goals are to "help eradicate economic poverty and make it possible for all people to have clean water and enough to eat, basic housing and health care, access to formal education and freedom from violence." At Wellesley, she won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for outstanding leadership and commitment to public service. Young Alumnae member of the Board of Trustees, she recently returned from a Susan Rappaport Knafel International Internship, arranged through the Center for Work and Service, at Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in India, where she worked in hospices, orphanages and a school. For more on the scholars, go to http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/2001/121801.html. The book, The Landscape and Architecture of Wellesley College, by peter fergusson, james o'gorman and john rhodes, art, was reviewed in the December Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, the foremost scholarly journal devoted to architecture in North America. Reviewer M. Jeffrey Hardwick of Temple University also discussed a similar book about the University of Pennsylvania, noting that both volumes "do an admirable job of chronicling Wellesley's and Penn's unique architectural histories,"but adding that "the Wellesley volume is the better of the two. Beautifully written and laid out, it is a solid history." marion just, political science, co-wrote "News For Sale: Half of Stations Report Sponsor Pressure on News Decisions" for the November-December issue of the Columbia Journalism Review. The piece examined the increasing level of influence advertisers have over local television news coverage. A survey of 118 news directors around the country found 53 percent reported pressure from advertisers to kill negative stories or to run positive ones. As one news manager noted, this makes it harder every year to maintain the wall between sales and news. The study was statistically analyzed by researchers at Wellesley and the Princeton Survey Research Associates and interpreted by a team of journalists. Just is a research associate at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. mary lefkowitz, classical studies, visited, gave lectures and taught classes at the classics departments at the universities of California at Davis and Santa Barbara as a visiting senior scholar of the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation. She also gave a lecture at Boston University on "The Mythology of 'Black Athena.'" english
tutoring.
ESL tutor available for individual help. Sign up inside
PLTC for consultations. 5:30-8:00 pm, PLTC. Info:
x2480. buddhist community gathering and discussion. 8-9 pm, Meditation Room beneath Houghton Memorial Chapel. Info: x2793. japan
table.
12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court small dining room. Sponsor:
Japanese. Info: x3226. bible study. Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. 4:15-5:15 pm, Little Chapel. Info: x2655. tie-dyeing.
Tie-dye your lab coat, T-shirt, scarf or any article.
Pre-order lab coats at $18 each, T-shirts at $2.50; free
hankerchiefs. SCI 222, 12:30 pm. Sponsor: Chemistry.
Info: x3077. sustaining
prayer.
Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. 12:30-1 pm, Little
Chapel. Info: x2655. praise and worship. Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. 7:15-8:15 pm, Little Chapel. Info: x2655. french
table.
12-1 pm, Tower Court small dining room. Sponsor: French.
Info: x1004. catholic
mass.
4:45 pm, Newman Common Room (lower level, Houghton
Memorial Chapel). Info: x2688. english
tutoring.
ESL tutor available for individual help. Sign up inside
PLTC for consultations. 5:30-8 pm, PLTC. Info: x2480. unitarian
universalist community gathering.
6:15 pm, Little Chapel. Info: x3484. theatre.
Upstage Theatre's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr
(Abridged). 7 pm, Shakespeare House. Free for
Wellesley/MIT students, $3 for other students and $6 for
general admission. (See story, page 4.) Info:
x3192. panel discussion. "How I Succeeded in Business," 6-8:30 pm, McAfee Dining Hall. Pre-registration required, in CWS, GRH 441. Sponsors: Business Leadership Council, Pre-Business Association, CWS. (See story, page 1.) Info: x2352. theatre. Upstage Theatre's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged). 8 pm, Shakespeare House. Free for Wellesley/MIT students, $3 for other students and $6 for general admission. (See story, page 4.) Info: x3192. workshop.
"Exploring Career Options in Business: Finding the Right
Place for You," 9 am-4 pm, Clapp Library Lecture Room.
Pre-registration required, in CWS, GRH 441. Sponsors:
Business Leadership Council, Pre-Business Association,
CWS. Info: x2352. theatre. Upstage Theatre's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged). 8 pm, Shakespeare House. Free for Wellesley/MIT students, $3 for other students and $6 for general admission. (See story, page 4.) Info: x3192. worship
services.
Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. 11:15am-12:15 pm,
Houghton Memorial Chapel. Info: x2655. theatre. Upstage Theatre's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged). 7 pm, Shakespeare House. Free for Wellesley/MIT students, $3 for other students and $6 for general admission. (See story, page 4.) Info: x3192. president's
open office hour. 12:30-1:30
pm, GRH 350. deadline.
For study abroad scholarships, financial portion of
application due to Student Financial Services. Info:
x2361. informational
meeting.
For students interested in PRESHCO program in Cordoba,
Spain. 7 pm, Library Lecture Room. Refreshments. Info:
x2402. buddhist community gathering and discussion. 8-9 pm, Meditation Room beneath Houghton Memorial Chapel. Info: x2793. exhibit.
Pedro Salinas: The Wellesley Years (1936-1940). Includes
selected works by the Spanish poet and lecturer.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Salinas' death.
Clapp Library Lobby. Sponsor: Library. Info: x2127. exhibit. Works of Science in Special Collections. Includes printed works in various fields of science from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Clapp Library, 4th floor, Special Collections. Through January. Sponsor: Library. Info: x2129. don't
miss...bad wigs and high jinks make for fun with
Shakespeare "I love Shakespeare, I'm an English major, I'm in the Shakespeare Society, as is Ariel, and I've seen and read almost all of Shakespeare's plays," says Hayasaka."I really enjoy sharing my passions with other people, and Shakespeare is definitely one of them. Last semester I directed The Merchant of Venice for the Shakespeare Society, so the next logical project was a play covering the rest of the works!" Shakespeare buffs (and anyone who enjoys a laugh) will love this play. "It's probably the funniest play I've ever come across," Hayasaka says. "So if you think that Shakespeare is dull and boring, I guarantee that you'll be gleefully eating your words after seeing this show." The play revolves around a group of slightly clueless yet enthusiastic actors who put on 37 plays, 154 sonnets, a biography of Shakespeare and a few really bad wigs all in two hours or less. "Unlike many other Upstage plays, much of this play is made up or improvised by the cast," Hayasaka says. "It is very much an ensemble work, with the actors utilizing each other as well as the audience to create each performance." She warns parents that some material in the play is not suitable for children, one reason no matinee performances have been scheduled. The
play will be performed Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 pm;
Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 pm; Saturday, Feb. 2, at 8 pm; and
Sunday, Feb. 3, at 7 pm in the Shakespeare House. Tickets
are free for Wellesley/MIT students, $3 for other
students and $6 for general admission. For more
information, call x3192. Click Here to View Previous Issue Return to the Office of Public Information's Homepage Created
by: Shanna Yetman '02 |
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