Session One

• Classroom: Jan Stegemann, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Engineered Microenvironments for Regenerative Medicine

Our laboratory studies how cells interact with the 3D protein environment that surrounds them in tissues, and how cell function can be controlled by defined extracellular environments. By recreating specific tissue environments in vitro, cell function can be tailored for the purpose of promoting desired cell behaviors. The biologically-derived proteins collagen and fibrin are of particular interest, due to their role as structural polymers, in order to direct the function of adult stem cells toward desired lineages. These materials are designed to mimic key features of the cellular environment in specific tissues, and can also be used to deliver cells in a minimally invasive manner. This talk will give an overview of our work and will highlight applications in orthopedic and cardiovascular tissue repair.

• Interactive: Elliot Soloway, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

21st Century Tools for 21st Century Learning: Using Cellphone Computers in K-12

• Tour: Wilson Student Team Center

Session Two

• Classroom: Google_TM 101 - Search Engines and Beyond

America's schools are beginning to emerge from NCLB Winter and realizing that they need to prepare our children for a global, ever-changing world. We will describe the learning that takes place in such schools. Attendees will experience, first-hand, how cellphones are being used for teaching and learning.

• Interactive: Guy Meadows, Professor, Naval Architecture and Marine

BathyBoats and FlyingFish?

The MHL is currently working on a project for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an autonomous buoy for persistent surveillance in the open ocean. The vehicle, which we call the "U of M Flying Fish," is a collaborative effort with faculty from the MHL, Aerospace Engineering and EECS Departments, and has given us the opportunity to pull together a great team. The idea of this autonomous vehicle is that it quietly drifts to the edge of its watch circle, harnessing and harvesting energy from sun, wind, and waves as it drifts. Once it reaches the edge, it takes off like a seabird and flies to the other side of the circle where it autonomously lands and begins the drift cycle again. For a small vehicle like this, most waves look like those in The Perfect Storm. By flying over them we minimize energy used in transit, maintain a long-term energy balance (i.e. no refueling required), and give more time for sensor operations without noise from the vehicle. We envision fleets of these vehicles deployed for a variety of environmental monitoring applications. See one in action in the Lurie Reflecting Pool.

• Tour: 3D Labs

As an interdisciplinary service facility, the 3D Lab provides the University community with access to high-end technologies in the general areas of 3d computer modeling, 3d visualization, and rapid prototyping of physical models. The Lab's resources and consulting services are available to students, faculty, and staff from all schools and colleges for exploration, education, and research. Through a combined directorship, the Lab cooperates closely with the Virtual Reality Lab. Come explore!

• Tour: Ann And Robert H. Lurie Tower

Travel to the top of the 165 foot tall carillon bell tower and see how it is played.

Session Three

• Classroom: Kathleen Sienko, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Spacewalk to Sidewalk: The Science of Balance

• Interactive: Perry Samson, Associate Chair and professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences

The New Engineering Classroom - Is There Too Much Technology

Actively participate in a real class using new technologies developed in the College of Engineering, illustrating how today's college classroom is changing through the use of interactive tools. Answer questions, pose questions, work in groups, self-asses your learning and ponder your own learning styles while also learning how research in the College is uncovering surprising new insights into how laptops in the classroom affect distraction, attentiveness, engagement and learning.

• Tour: Video and Sound Design Studios with Greg Wakefield, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Associate Professor of Music

The Digital Media Tools Lab supports students and faculty engaged in projects that explore rich media and collaborative tools. We define “rich media” as any digital media that includes a time-based component such as audio, video, animation, virtual reality constructions or other data visualized over time.

Smart Studios provide space, resources, and the guidance of experienced, creative personnel and technical support staff. Through programs such as Bluestream and GROCS. we support the development of an infrastructure through technology for new approaches to the use of rich media.