Session Descriptions!

Amy Angelou, Katelyn Alison, Mary Murray

Participants will tour the Rooney Sports Complex at the University of Pittsburgh, which includes a tour of Pitt football athletic training and the Pitt Neuromuscular Research Lab.  Note: there is a walk between two of the buildings.

Amy Angelou, Katelyn Alison, Mary Murray

A second tour of Pitt Sports Medicine, this tour will focus on  athletic training, sports medicine research, sports science and sports nutrition facilities and operation.

Kerry Handron

Tour this beautiful historic building learning about the major astronomical advancements made here. Image sunspots if the weather is good, see the 30" refractor and visit the crypt. The tour will include an introduction to current research and student opportunities.

Shannon O'Halloran

GAINS participants will get a behind-the-scenes tour of Duolingo's global headquarters and access to Duolingo leaders in engineering, assessment science, research, and security.  See STEM careers in action at the world's leading education application, and learn how Duolingo's relentless pursuit of innovation fuels its mission: to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.

Bin Yang and Melikhan Tanyeri

We’re thrilled to invite students to explore the exciting world of Science, Engineering, and Innovation at Duquesne University! This event offers a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in our cutting-edge biomedical engineering labs, where you’ll work with the latest technology.

After the lab session, you’ll have the chance to connect with some of our outstanding female faculty members and STEM students. They’ll share insights into their research, academic journeys, and career paths. It’s a relaxed and friendly vibe, perfect for asking questions, picking up tips, and making some great connections.

Jeff Adams, Toni Senchisen, Amanda Troy

Embark on a thrilling journey through the world of medicine with our interactive STEM tour!  Part 1: The Simulation Hospital Mystery •  Part 2: The HoloLens Anatomy Escape Room • Explore the human body: Use cutting-edge HoloLens technology to enter a virtual anatomy lab. 

Urmi Ashar, Kimberly Szucs, Amy Mattila

Discover what infectious diseases are and learn how organizations like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide essential guidelines to protect our community. Students will explore how diseases spread and gain insights into effective strategies for preventing their transmission. This hands-on experience will allow students to become 'disease detectives' as they learn by doing.

To conclude the day, students will be provided a tour of Duquesne University’s cadaver anatomy lab which will provide a unique, hands-on learning experience that deepens their understanding of human anatomy. It bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical practice, preparing students for future healthcare careers. This experience also fosters ethical awareness, professional growth, and inspiration, making it an invaluable part of their educational journey.

Carolina Colombo Tedesco

Chemistry research is no longer just about lab work! In this session, we will explore how we use programming to train machines in understanding how molecules behave during chemical reactions. Learn how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of chemistry, leading to exciting new discoveries in catalysts and beyond!

Upasana Sridhar

This talk is about how efficiently using computers is important, especially in a moment when datacenters use more energy than a big city like SF. There are some recipes for how to use resources effectively that are universal. The rest of the talk will focus on how pipelining is one recipe to get good performance that can be applied to a lot of cases, whether you were Henry Ford designing the assembly line, a manager at Giant Eagle, a student in a college dorm, or a performance engineer like me. :)

Gabriela Gongora-Svartzman

Are you curious about how data shapes the world around us? Whether you're interested in healthcare, business, computer science or even public policy, learning how to understand and present data is a superpower in today’s tech-driven world. This session will introduce you to data visualizations and dashboards that tell stories.

If you want to learn more about problem-solving, collaboration, and making data-driven decisions, this session is perfect for you!

Mahitha Chaturvdula

p58a and p58b are biomineralization transmembrane proteins that are encoded by the corresponding p58a/b genes. These are used to deposit calcite-containing biominerals from PMCs to form the endoskeleton structure in late embryos. Neither of these proteins play a role in the specification, directed migration or differentiation of PMCs, but they do play a role in biomineralization (Adomako-Ankomah and Ettensohn 2011). These genes lie next to each other on the same chromosome, which is important to note because we have found a similar p58-like protein with a similar structure to p58a/b, but its gene does not lie on this chromosome. Our research tries to understand how and where these genes arose and determine species that have related genes.

Christa Michel

Our brains constantly update our behavior based on newly available information. This complex and dynamic process involves the recruitment of specialized neurons in areas across the brain, including motor cortical regions and subcortical brain structures, and is guided by autonomic arousal. In this project, we use neural recordings from key brain areas and machine vision-guided pupil tracking in mice to understand how the brain updates previously learned motor behaviors based on new information.

Gabrielle Illava

In order to understand the way life has evolved to not only to tolerate, but to thrive in extreme conditions, we must look at the underlying physics and molecular mechanisms involved. In the Si lab here at CMU, we are researching the ways that single cell organisms have adapted to the extreme variations in temperature and pressure that is found around our planet. We do this by using genetic engineering to knock out specific gene pathways that are hypothesized to be involved with the cellular response to changing conditions. We then use fluorescence microscopy to quantify changes in growth rate and cell fitness. Please join our session if you would like to learn more about any of these things!

Ran Tao

Have you ever wondered what mathematicians study in their offices all day? I am a graduate student studying pure mathematics relating to logic. In this talk, I hope to open a window on what mysterious objects are keeping us busy all day and delve (a little bit) into the world of descriptive set theory, my own field of study.

Edward Wojchiechowski

TechSpark is Carnegie Mellon University’s focal point for technology innovation. This facility provides equipment for rapidly prototyping designs from ideas to reality for educational, extracurricular, and research activities. It is a hands-on learning and exploration space available for current College of Engineering students, faculty, staff, and collaborators across campus.