Thank you to all that made the 2022 PA Scholars Initiative a success!
Undergraduate research, a high-impact education practice, can be a powerful opportunity for students to experience discovery, apply course-based learning, build skills, and explore career paths. We would like to thank all of our partners that joined us in a campaign to increase awareness and open doors to funded research opportunities — with special thanks to CMU’s School of Computer Science and the Robotics Institute for providing the funding & support that makes this work possible and to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Dr. Tanya Garcia, and Judd Pittman for their work to increase access and awareness of STEM opportunities across the state.
You can meet the five students who participated in the 2022 PA Scholars pilot program, and learn about their research and experiences below. Scholars were matched with faculty mentors and projects, received scholarship funding, and participated in professional development activities as part of the RI Summer Scholars (https://riss.ri.cmu.edu/) learning community. Stay tuned — applications for the summer 2023 robotics research experiences open November 1!
This pilot is part of the RISS robotics education and workforce development initiatives. More than 75% of RISS alumni go on to graduate programs, with nearly all scholars ultimately working in STEM fields.
Watch the RISS 2022 Scholar Research Videos here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Oksl-PEd8uhjsCtu9x-MIKdluj-612j) !
Kylie Barber
The Pennsylvania State University
RI Mentor: Dr. Zeynep Temel
Research Poster
Research Video
Funded research opportunities open possibilities for discovery and future career development. For me, researching at Carnegie Mellon furthered my interest in robotics and graduate school. Providing these opportunities to young scholars is essential in helping them find and pursue their passions within STEM.
Hello, my name is Kylie Barber. I am a rising third-year student at Penn State in the College of Engineering and Schreyer Honors College. I am studying mechanical engineering and mechatronics. A fun fact about me is that I am an identical twin! My current research at Penn State is with the Engineering Design and Optimization Group and my research at Carnegie Mellon is with the Zoom Lab. Areas of research I have worked in include biomimetics, bistability, multistability, soft robotics, origami engineering, and compliant mechanisms. I have designed and manufactured compliant bistable hyperelastic hinges and am currently working on a compliant origami swimming robot. I also work at the engineering maker space and machine shop at Penn State as a student supervisor where I have learned woodworking, machining, welding, additive manufacturing, and other skills. I love working on hands-on projects that allow me to apply my engineering coursework knowledge to the real world. I would like to thank my mentors at Penn State for introducing me to this opportunity and helping me prepare for it as well as my Carnegie Mellon RISS mentor, Dr. Temel, and everyone else at Carnegie Mellon for giving me the opportunity!
Kaylie Barber
The Pennsylvania State University
RI Mentor: Dr. Zeynep Temel
Research Poster
Research Video
Through a funded research opportunity in the RISS program, I had the opportunity to explore my interest in robotics research. It allowed me to learn about what graduate school and a career in research could look like for me. Because I had the opportunity to experience academic research early in my career, I am now able to better prepare for graduate school such as applying for funding and continuing undergraduate research in the robotics field.
Hello, my name is Kaylie Barber. I am a rising third-year student studying Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University. I am also an identical twin! I conduct research as part of the Mechanism Collective Lab within the Engineering Design and Optimization Group at Penn State in the manufacture of minimally-thick compliant mechanisms. As part of the 2022 RISS Program at Carnegie Mellon, I am furthering my knowledge of compliant mechanisms through robotic applications. Under the guidance of Dr. Zeynep Temel in the Zoom Lab, I am exploring the areas of compliant mechanisms, soft robotics, multi-stability, biomimetics, and origami for swimming locomotion. I am passionate about engaging through creating hands-on prototypes to help visualize, understand, and test new concepts, and I have experience working as a student supervisor at the Penn State engineering maker space where I work with many manufacturing tools and methods including rapid prototyping, machining, welding, and woodworking! I am grateful to my recommenders who encouraged me to pursue such an amazing opportunity and thankful to the CMU community for welcoming me!
Anisa Callis
The Pennsylvania State University
RI Mentor: Dr. Jack Mostow
Research Poster
Research Video
Hello! I am Anisa Callis and I am a current mentee pursuing my passion for human-centered design majoring in Human-Centered Design and Development at Pennsylvania State University as a rising junior and a member of the Millennium Scholars Program, a highly selective program for underrepresented groups students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I have and currently am engaged in active learning and developing skills in programming languages such as Java, Python, and R, and other tools used in my field such as Figma. I gained valuable experience with research last during my research experience for undergraduates (REU) at Rochester Institute of Technology. Through that opportunity, I learned how to conduct and run an experiment for the first time. My REU experience was virtual, presenting challenges that helped me grow in new ways. I learned to work in groups differently since all interaction was over zoom. I also found ways to connect and communicate with my groupmates through a screen and develop lasting relationships with my mentors. I ultimately wish to use last summer’s REU and this summer’s internship to gain experiences that will help me take my skills with human-centered design and software design into industry. I also have a desire to further my curiosities by gaining my Ph.D. in Human-centered design. My goal within my future career is to use my experiences and degree to create technological solutions that are beneficial and not harmful to the targeted users while supporting others to do the same and find their enthusiasm for technology. Through Robotics Institute of Summer Scholars (RISS) working with Dr. Jack Mostow on his project RoboTutor, I wish to continue to gain confidence in my academic and research abilities, grow in my learned ability to work in teams, gain valuable mentorship and advice with long-lasting relationships, and experiences to further her future in Human-Centered Design.
Joel Julin
University of Pittsburgh
RI Mentor: Dr. Laszlo Jeni
Research Poster
Research Video
The experience I had during the RISS program was unlike any other. Throughout the summer I further developed, and fostered new crucial skills needed for a successful graduate research career. At the same time, this program provided the opportunity to work closely with people at the top of their respective fields and build valuable relationships with like minded individuals. I wholeheartedly believe that opportunities such as these are truly transformative, in terms of the knowledge gained and resources offered, and are necessary for students interested in pursuing a career in research.
Hello everyone! I am Joel Julin, a senior Computer Science student at the University of Pittsburgh. My research interests primarily concern the topics of computer vision and deep learning. This summer I will be working with Dr. László Jeni’s Computational Behavior Lab where I will be researching applications for neural radiance fields (NeRF). Prior to this experience, I researched the role of spatial mixing in 2D convolutions under Dr. Simon Lucey’s Ci2Cv computer vision lab at CMU. I am eager to progress my knowledge within the field as well as gain valuable exposure to surrounding studies. I want to thank all who made the RISS program possible; I will forever appreciate this pivotal opportunity.
Will Scott
University of Pittsburgh
RI Mentor: Dr. Maxim Likhachev
Research Poster
Research Video
My opportunity to complete research with the Robotics Institute as a Summer Scholar transformed my interpersonal skills and understanding of graduate-level research. These opportunities propel a scholar’s technical knowledge, cross-culture communication skills, and networking capabilities. Undergraduate research opportunities, such as the RISS program, are critical to the success of students who are not yet fully equipped with the knowledge or resources to be successful in the pursuit of higher education.
Hello everyone! My name is Will Scott, and I am a Computer Engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh. I am interested in learning more about path planning based on the Anytime A* algorithm for autonomous robots and systems. This summer, I will be researching in the Search-Based Planning Lab under the guidance of Dr. Maxim Likhachev. I am excited to collaborate in a team-oriented environment, as opposed to the test-based model in classrooms within academia. I feel this environment aligns with my work style more by granting me the freedom to explore my interest without the overt fear of failure. Furthermore, I look forward to refining my communication skills and building my professional network with like-minded peers. I cannot wait to use the technical knowledge and skills learned from RISS to empower my local community: building a framework for after-school programs designed to expose underrepresented minorities to robotic concepts in a safe environment. Thank you to my sponsors and RISS staff for believing in me and supporting me to pursue this opportunity.
THANK YOU
RI Summer Scholars (RISS) program sponsors, mentors, and partners!
The Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute Summer Scholars’ program is made possible by generous support and commitment of sponsors, partners, faculty, graduate students, staff, and CMU & RISS alumni.
Explore Robotics:
Watch the Robolaunch Series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Oksl-PEd8vhJ40PczdOA1wrU0DEfl5O)
============================================================
Copyright © 2022 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Interested in learning more, connect with us today!
Rachel Burcin
** rachel@cmu.edu (http://rachel@cmu.edu)
John M. Dolan, Ph.D.
** jdolan@andrew.cmu.edu (http://jdolan@andrew.cmu.edu)
** Make a gift to support robotics and AI future leaders! (https://give.cmu.edu/pmtx/giftselect?id=a41f4000000eHwX&appeal=A5048)