2013-2014
Outreach activities at Reavis Math and Science Special School in South Kenwood
IGERT PI Melina Hale and IGERT trainees are developing an ongoing relation with science students at Reavis School, including visiting and assisting in classroom activities, judging science fair projects, and planning a field trip to the new Field Museum Biomechanics Exhibit in Spring 2014. IGERT trainees participated in judging Reavis middle school students' projects at their February 6, 2014 Science Fair Evening. Trainee Brendan Chambers wrote "It was fun to tell them we were professional science students, that science is a viable career choice."
Outreach: The Groks Science Show, WHPK and Twenty Affiliate Stations
IGERT former trainee Thomas Stewart is the co-host of an hour-long bi-weekly radio show on WHPK 88.5, reporting science news and interviews with authors and researchers. The show is broadcast on twenty radio stations across the US, internationally, and available on iTunes.
ORGB 31900: IGERT Bootcamp In Motor Control And Movement
Autumn Quarter 2013, The University of Chicago
Bootcamp I: Outreach training with Melina Hale; outreach work at Reavis Math and Science Special School in South Kenwood.
A critical ability for research scientists is to be able to communicate with non-scientists about our work. Engaging with young people and adult non-scientists is rewarding and necessary to helping build a scientifically literate public and encourage future generations of scientists. In our IGERT outreach bootcamp Trainees learn how to develop and perform effective outreach. The bootcamp and subsequent outreach activities with Reavis Math and Science Special School are an important experience in education for IGERT Trainees. It can inform Trainees' educational objectives and grant proposals as they start post-graduate careers.
Bootcamp II: Writing workshop with the University of Chicago Writing Program
IGERT trainees participate in an intensive workshop with an instructor from the Writing Program, focusing on writing clear abstracts and introductory paragraphs to grant proposals and scientific articles.
Bootcamp III
IGERT trainees visit some of the labs of current IGERT trainers, learning not only about the research opportunities in these labs for IGERT trainees but also the specialized equipment for research in motor control and movement purchased with IGERT funds for trainee use. Labs at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University are included in this part of the IGERT Bootcamp.
Outreach: Science Pentathlon planning for Evanston School District 65 Middle School Students
IGERT trainee Namrata Patel is serving as the Co-Chair of Northwestern University's McCormick Student Leadership Council's Science Pentathlon Committee, which organizes an annual event during the spring quarter for Evanston Middle School Students. The goals are to introduce students to various fields of engineering, teach them science, and build teamwork skills. Students engage in team competitions where they apply critical thinking and scientific principles to design the best contraptions for the given challenge. As co-chair, Namrata oversees the challenge designs, student and volunteer recruitment, logistics and coordination with the school district. She also participates in the Pentathlon itself.
Outreach: co-laborate Science Partnership Pilot Program
IGERT trainee Z. Wan Yang has developed and received funding for the startup Science Partnership program "co-laborate." The program, which started in the Summer of 2013, has matched 10 graduate students with elementary school classrooms in three nearby elementary schools, and has trained the graduate students on how to design innovative, experiment-based lessons that fulfill the Next Generation Science Standards. They also have trained three teachers on how to carry out in-class experiments on their own, started a Science Saturdays program for extra science tutoring, and assisted with the Chicago Public School science fair. This project was the winner of the Midwest Social Innovation Start-up Challenge at Marquet University and semifinalist in the Brady Corporation Midwest Regional Championship and the John Edwardson, '72, Social New Venture Challenge at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business competition.
Outreach: NextGen2013, October 2013
IGERT trainee Kyler Brown participated in a one-day conference for Chicago high school students interested in STEM careers. More information on the NextGEN organization can be found at http://nextgen2013.weebly.com.
Science Education Career Panel, November 20, 2013
Former IGERT trainee Dr. Heather King (Ph.D. 2013) was an invited speaker for a career panel intended to answer questions about how to transition from a graduate career in the sciences to a post-graduate career in education, sponsored by Northwestern University Career Services and Graduate Student Services.
Outreach at Perspectives Charter School December 17, 2013
Former IGERT trainee Charlene McCord lead a strawberry DNA extraction with middle school girls at Perspectives Charter School.
IGERT presence at January 24, 2014 University of Chicago GradUCon Conference.
IGERT PI Melina Hale was a panelist in the session "Women in the Sciences: Addressing Common Challenges," partially organized by IGERT PD Carolyn Johnson.
Evolutionary Neuroscience Lesson for high school students February 26, 2014
IGERT trainee Yashesvini Vinayak Ram participated in "The Think Tank," sponsored by the UChicago NEURO club and UChicago CASCADE. Graduate neuroscience students talked with CPS students in grades 9-11 about the evolution of the brain and natural selection as a mechanism for evolution. Students were able to examine brains of various animals and compare their structures, then participated in a class debate on what traits can be affected by natural selection and what traits are plastic (learned during a lifetime).
Brains! Workshops in the Palmer Lab, March 24-27, 2014.
IGERT trainees Brett Aiello, Hilary Katz and Justin Lieber participated in workshops in Dr. Stephanie Palmer's University of Chicago lab leading students from a local Chicago elementary school through hands-on experiments to learn about neural signaling, including recording from a live cockroach leg and EMG recording of the students' own muscles.
Outreach: Applied Math Leadership Board at Northwestern University
IGERT trainee Namrata Patel has served as co-chair of the Applied Math Leadership Board since Summer 2013, sponsored by the NWU Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics Student Leadership Council. The Council targets strengthening the NWU graduate student community through governance, leadership and stewardship. The goals are to develop and implement programs for social, academic and professional development and provide resources to promote individual growth, professional relationsihps, and service to the community. Activities and events include community outreach promoting math to local children, providing a First-year Foundations Workshop to academically train and prepare incoming graduate students, Preliminary Exam Review sessions with students, weekly student seminar presentations, and production of an department newsletter for alumni where current students can publish and share their work and other material.
Field Museum Exhibit: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics"
IGERT PI and Steering Committee faculty Melina Hale, Callum Ross and Mark Westneat all contributed to a new exhibit at Field Museum: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics" which opened March 12, 2014. This exhibit will be open in Chicago through January 2015, and will be available to travel after that date. For more information, please go to http://biomechanics.fieldmuseum.org/
IGERT Career Panel and workshop
Moto-IGERT sponsored a career panel and workshop for all Moto-IGERT trainees at the Field Museum on January 15th. Six scientists from the Chicago area discussed their own career paths and choices, then met informally over dinner with our Moto-IGERT trainees. This workshop was organized in response to trainees' requests for more career-oriented information and discussions.
IGERT Spring Quarter Course and Rotation
Development and Evolution of Neuromechanical Systems is offered every Spring Quarter as part of the IGERT course curriculum. Other students and faculty are welcome to attend. Drs. Melina Hale and Callum Ross are the faculty instructors.
A Rotation with the Encyclopedia of Life is offered in the Spring Quarter as part of the IGERT curriculum. The course is based in the Synthesis Center at the Field Museum. The rotation provides experience with web-based education and communication of motor control and movement to a broad audience. Faculty director: Dr. Mark Westneat.
2012
Neuromechanics Symposium
On April 27th, 2012, the Moto-IGERT program hosted the second Chicago Neuromechanics Symposium on the University of Chicago campus.
Read more »
MOTOrama: IGERT bioengineering students lead outreach activities!
On Friday, April 6, four amazing bioengineering students from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University led students through day-long activities about sensation and motor control. The program, called MOTOrama, was the culminating outreach activity for the four IGERT students.
Read more »
ORGB 31900: IGERT Bootcamp in Motor Control and Movement
Autumn Quarter 2012, Field Museum Biodiversity Synthesis Center, IGERT Labs at Member Institutions
Bootcamp I: Outreach training with Project Exploration
A critical ability for research scientists is to be able to communicate with non-scientists about our work. Engaging with young people and adult non-scientists is rewarding and necessary to helping build a scientifically literate public and encourage future generations of scientists. Federal grants now often require creative and relatively sophisticated education/outreach components. In our IGERT outreach bootcamp Trainees learn how to develop and perform effective outreach. The bootcamp and subsequent outreach activities with PE are an important experience in education for IGERT Trainees. It can inform Trainees' educational objectives and grant proposals as they start post-graduate careers.
Bootcamp II: Specialized Research Opportunities in IGERT Laboratories
IGERT trainees will visit some of the labs of current IGERT trainers, learning not only about the research opportunities in these labs for IGERT trainees but also the specialized equipment for research in motor control and movement purchased with IGERT funds for trainee use. Labs at University of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History and Northwestern University will be included in this part of the IGERT Bootcamp.
Moto-IGERT at 2012 Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM
IGERT was represented at the 2012 Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science Technology Math and Engineering. Read more »
Society for Integrative Biology (SICB) Annual Meeting
Five IGERT Trainees attended the annual SICB national meeting. Read more »
2011
Moto-IGERT and Project Exploration partner for MOTORAMA
A group of middle and high school students spent two days of their Spring Break with Moto-IGERT trainees learning about movement, senses and other things biomechanical. Read more »
IGERT Outreach in Fiji
MotoIGERT trainee Charlene McCord spend two and a half weeks in Suva, Fiji on an international education project connecting about 40 Chicago and Fijian high schoolers. Read more »
Moto-IGERT Research in Papua-New Guinea
University of Chicago Moto-IGERT trainees Joanna Mandecki and Charlene McCord participated in a three-week expedition to Papua New Guinea. Read more »
2010
New Course: Spring Quarter 2010
A new course: Development and Evolution of Neuromechanical Systems was offered in Spring Quarter 2010 as part of the IGERT course curriculum. Other students and faculty were welcome to attend. Drs. Melina Hale and Callum Ross were the faculty instructors. Read more »
New Rotation: Spring Quarter 2010
A Rotation with the Encyclopedia of Life was offered in Spring Quarter as part of the IGERT curriculum. The course was based in the Synthesis Center at the Field Museum. The rotation provided experience with web-based education and communication of motor control and movement to a broad audience. Faculty director: Dr. Mark Westneat. Read more »
Annual Meeting in Washington DC: May 23-May 25, 2010
Trainees, PIs, and administrators from IGERT programs across the country gathered in Washington, DC, from May 23rd to 25th at the IGERT annual meeting. Principle investigator Melina Hale, administrator Carolyn Johnson, and trainee Heather King represented the Moto-IGERT, with Ms. King presenting her poster "Can Fish Walk? Bipedal Locomotion in the African Lungfish." Among the topics presented and discussed during meeting sessions were ethics in research, the influence of upcoming technologies on science, career paths for trainees, and ways to improve the IGERT program. Read more »
Phenoscape Meeting at the Field Museum: Friday March 19, 2010
IGERT trainees have been invited to participate in a Phenoscape meeting at the Biodiversity Synthesis Center at the Field Museum on March 19, organized by Paula Mabee and her group. The Phenoscape Knowledgebase uses ontologies to integrate phenotypic data and genetic studies, presently for fishes but with several parallel projects also underway for other taxonomic groups. It is a powerful tool for systematics, developmental biology, and genomics research. The Phenoscape group is developing informatics and tools for integrating morphological data across studies and with genetic and developmental data. The user interface and tools are being designed to address the general needs of the systematics and 'evo- devo' community, and we need your input. Come to learn about new methods that are applicable to any group and to work hands-on with the knowledgebase.
Neuromechanics Symposium: May 17-May 18, 2010
The Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering based at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology will sponsor a symposium on Neuromechanics at the University of Chicago on May 17-May 18, 2010. The symposium that includes local and external speakers is being organized by IGERT faculty and provides an excellent opportunity for IGERT students and others to hear about the latest research directions in Neuromechanics and to meet leaders in the field. Contact Carolyn Johnson for additional information. Read more »
IGERT Spring Reception: May 16th, 2010
A reception celebrating the Moto-IGERT program and sponsored by the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research (CINNR) will be held at the Synthesis Center at the Field Museum from 5-7pm on Sunday May 16th. This will be an opportunity to toast to the program and its excellent community of students and trainers, to learn more about program elements and trainee research and to see the Synthesis Center, a hub for Moto-IGERT activity.
Moto-IGERT Trainee Presents Poster at SICB: January 3-7, 2010
Joanna Mandecki presented a poster at the 2010 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, on January 3-7, 2010. Read More »
2009
Moto-IGERT Dinner: November, 2009
MOTO IGERT Trainers and their newly appointed Trainees came together for a start-off dinner on November 20th, 2009. What better way to get to know each other than a shared Szechuan meal at Lao Sze Chuan in Chinatown? Faculty and students from The University of Chicago, Northwestern University and The Field Museum got acquainted over shared food, great conversation, and even birthday cake! Read More »
News
The Influence of Auditory Feedback on Vocal Sequence Production
Former IGERT trainee Etienne Mandersheid received his Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from the University of Chicago in June 2014.
Field Museum Exhibit: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics"
IGERT PI and Steering Committee faculty Melina Hale, Callum Ross and Mark Westneat all contributed to a new exhibit at Field Museum: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics" which opened March 12, 2014.
Outreach: Applied Math Leadership Board at Northwestern University
IGERT trainee Namrata Patel has served as co-chair of the Applied Math Leadership Board since Summer 2013, sponsored by the NWU Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics Student Leadership Council.
Brains! Workshops in the Palmer Lab, March 24-27, 2014.
IGERT trainees Brett Aiello, Hilary Katz and Justin Lieber participated in workshops in Dr. Stephanie Palmer's University of Chicago lab leading students from a local Chicago elementary school through hands-on experiments to learn about neural signaling, including recording from a live cockroach leg and EMG recording of the students' own muscles.
Evolutionary Neuroscience Lesson for high school students February 26, 2014
IGERT trainee Yashesvini Vinayak Ram participated in "The Think Tank," sponsored by the UChicago NEURO club and UChicago CASCADE. Graduate neuroscience students talked with CPS students in grades 9-11 about the evolution of the brain and natural selection as a mechanism for evolution. Students were able to examine brains of various animals and compare their structures, then participated in a class debate on what traits can be affected by natural selection and what traits are plastic (learned during a lifetime).
IGERT presence at January 24, 2014 University of Chicago GradUCon Conference.
IGERT PI Melina Hale was a panelist in the session "Women in the Sciences: Addressing Common Challenges," partially organized by IGERT PD Carolyn Johnson.