THE SUNDIAL - A weekly newsletter for Engineering Undergraduates
View THE SUNDIAL on-line at http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/news/sundial
The absolute last day and time to drop a class this semester is this Friday, November 20, at 4:00pm. After this date, petitions to drop courses will not be accepted.
1. Announcements
RECURRING: New Category Added to Engineering Liberal Studies Requirement
RECURRING: The Lowdown on Identifying Liberal Studies Courses
2. Important Dates and Deadlines
RECURRING: Important Dates and Deadlines for Fall 2009
3. Academics
NEW: BEE 6870 Seminar Series: The Science and Engineering Challenges to the Development of Sustainable Biobased Industries
NEW: SAFE Session: Ace that Final!
REPOST: Special Speaker Series Designed Especially for Undergraduates: Sustainable Earth, Energy, and Environmental Systems
REPOST: Internal Transfer to Arts & Sciences Info Session
REPOST: Critical Language Scholarship Program Competition
4. Events and Opportunities
NEW: Get Your Portrait Taken for the Yearbook!
REPOST: Enter the BOOM 2010 Logo Design Contest and Win an iPod Touch!
5. Engineering Student Groups and Projects
NEW: Cornell Windows 7 Load Fest: Students Get Windows 7 Pro Absolutely Free!
REPOST: M&AE Project Teams Recruiting Process for Spring 2010
6. How to Place an Ad in the Sundial
RECURRING: How to Place an Ad
1. Announcements
RECURRING: New Category Added to Engineering Liberal Studies Requirement
The College of Engineering recently added a new category to the liberal studies requirement. The new category is called "Communications in Engineering" and bears the abbreviation CE. It will include courses that address communication in the context of engineering with an emphasis on (1) the needs and preparation of the audience, (2) the context of presentation, (3) the purpose of the communication, and (4) the identity/identities of the communicator(s). Courses must be a minimum of 3 credits.
Initially, this category will be populated solely with ENGRC 3350 and ENGRC 3500. The rules governing the liberal studies requirement will remain unchanged, except that there are now 7 categories rather than 6. This change will not affect courses offered by the Communications Department in CALS.
Students who have already taken ENGRC 3350 or 3500, or are taking either of these courses in the Fall 2009 semester, will have the option of using the "old" designation of these courses or the new CE designation. Students taking either of these courses in Spring 2010 and subsequent semesters may only use them under the CE designation.
Questions? Please contact Engineering Advising, 167 Olin Hall.
RECURRING: The Lowdown on Identifying Liberal Studies Courses
Having difficulty identifying courses that satisfy the liberal studies distribution requirement? Go to this link: (https://www.cs.cornell.edu/gries/ccgb/) and click on the tabs in the gray area at the top of the page for lists of liberal studies courses broken down by 1) the two colleges at which liberal studies courses are primarily taught [A&S and CALS], or 2) liberal studies category [HA, CA, LA, KCM, SBA, FL). (A tab for the new liberal studies category, Communications Engineering [CE], has not yet been added to the site. See above for details.)
As the liberal studies distribution is reviewed and updated throughout the year, newly approved courses are added, and can be found by clicking on the "other yes" tab. Courses that have been reviewed and denied liberal studies status can be found by clicking on the "other no" tab. If you've questions about liberal study policy, there's a tab for that too.
Still confused? Call (255-7414), email (adv_engineering), or stop by Engineering Advising (167 Olin Hall) for more information.
2. Important Dates and Deadlines
RECURRING: Important Dates and Deadlines for Fall 2009
FRI, 11.20.09
ABSOLUTE last day to drop a course by petition. A "W" will appear on the transcript for these courses (end of 12th week)
WED, 11.25.09
THANKSGIVING RECESS BEGINS @ 1:10pm
MON, 11.30.09
INSTRUCTION RESUMES
SAT, 12.05.09
LAST DAY of CLASSES
SUN, 12.06.09 - WED, 12.09.09
Study Period
WED, 12.09.09
First Day of Scheduled Final Exams (7pm) - Good Luck!
FRI, 12.18.09
Last Day of Scheduled Final Exams
3. Academics
NEW: BEE 6870 Seminar Series: The Science and Engineering Challenges to the Development of Sustainable Biobased Industries
"Perennial Grasses for Bioenergy Conversion"
Speaker: Hilary Mayton, Extension Associate, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University
Thursday, November 19
1:25-2:15pm, 125 Riley-Robb Hall
Biomass is an alternative energy resource that can reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in the United States. Replicated plot trials of warm and cool season perennial grasses were established in 2007 for evaluation as potential bioenergy feedstock in several locations in New York State (NYS). In addition, strip trials ranging from 1-8 acres per strip in size of perennial grasses in monoculture and mixed stands, were established in 2007 in diverse regions of NYS. The goals of our research program are to identify traits and quality characteristics associated with high yield, total BTUs, efficient conversion to ethanol and other bio-based products and to breed for improvement of those traits. Data from compositional quality analyses and field trials will be presented.
Open to the Cornell Community.
NEW: SAFE Session: Ace that Final!
It's not too late to ace that test. Come learn effective studying methods for your finals.
When: Tuesday, December 1
Where: 165 Olin Hall
When: 5-6:00pm
Sponsored by Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE).
REPOST: Special Speaker Series Designed Especially for Undergraduates: Sustainable Earth, Energy, and Environmental Systems
November 30
Reclaiming the Commons: Successes, Solutions, and Problem Solving
Monday nights, 7:30-8:45pm, Room 101 Phillips Hall
The speakers are researchers from all over the Cornell campus speaking on topics of climate change and its potential environmental impacts on land and sea, and the challenges to meet our needs for food, water, and energy.
For more information please contact Louise P. McGarry at lpm3@cornell.edu or 607-342-0628 (cell).
Co-sponsored by the Cornell Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future.
REPOST: Internal Transfer to Arts & Sciences Info Session
Students who are considering transferring to the College of Arts and Sciences should plan to attend an information session. A&S is holding information sessions on the following dates this fall:
Tuesday, 11/24
All meetings are at 4:45pm in the auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall.
REPOST: Critical Language Scholarship Program Competition
The United States Department of State is pleased to announce the upcoming scholarship competition for the 2010 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program for overseas intensive summer language institutes in thirteen critical need foreign languages. The on-line application for CLS Program awards will be available November 9, 2009, and the deadline to apply will be December 18, 2009.
Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) provide group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven to ten weeks. Students may apply for one language, and will be placed at institute sites based on language evaluations after selection. The 2010 CLS Program will include new programs in Indonesian and Japanese.
Levels available for each language are as follows:
-Arabic, Persian: Advanced beginning, intermediate or advanced level;
-Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi, Turkish, or Urdu: Beginning, intermediate or advanced level;
-Chinese, Japanese or Russian: Intermediate or advanced level.
Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. While there is no service requirement attached to CLS Program awards, participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.
For more information on the CLS Program and the selection process, please visit http://www.CLScholarship.org. If you would like to receive a program announcement, please email sylla.julia@caorc.org
4. Events and Opportunities
NEW: Get Your Portrait Taken for the Yearbook!
Through Saturday, Nov. 21, the Cornellian yearbook will be holding a photo session at 205 Dryden Rd. (the old Kraftees location, right next to the Palms).
To sign up, go to http://www.ouryear.com with the school code 87176. There is a $5 sitting fee and a $10 re-take fee due at the time of your appointment. Attire is business formal.
REPOST: Enter the BOOM 2010 Logo Design Contest and Win an iPod Touch!
We're holding a contest to select the logo for BOOM 2010! The winner will receive an iPod touch and great exposure for their work. We use the BOOM logo in many formats each year: our website, t-shirts, invitations, programs and posters. We're looking for a fresh and flexible logo design that has something to say about computing (or just looks really cool).
What is BOOM? BOOM stands for "Bits On Our Minds". It is a one-day showcase of student efforts, projects, and creativity in digital and technological applications. BOOM is sponsored by Computing and Information Science, but we encourage examples of student work from disciplines throughout Cornell.
Contest Rules & Guidelines:
-Open to all Cornell students
-The design must contain the words "BOOM 2010" and "Bits On Our Minds"
-Full-color designs are preferred
-Using images of brains is discouraged
Submission Instructions:
-Multiple submissions are encouraged
-Submissions must be received in 303 Upson Hall by December 1, 2009 at 4pm.
-Provide your logo in the following formats:
1. CD containing the following:
72dpi web version approx 3"x5" (JPG or GIF)
600 dpi hi-res print version, approx 8"x10"(JPG or GIF)
2. Two 8"x10" color prints
-Label your CD and prints with your netID. If you're submitting more than one logo, assign each one a number, e.g. "cms242_#1, cms242_#2"
For more information, email cms242@cornell.edu.
5. Engineering Student Groups and Projects
NEW: Cornell Windows 7 Load Fest: Students Get Windows 7 Pro Absolutely Free!
What: Get Windows 7 installed on your laptop (upgrade from Vista or clean install)
When: Friday, November 20, 2009
Time: 11am to 2:30pm
Place: Upson Lounge
You qualify if you are taking Science, Technology, Engineering or Math courses--so, in other words, just about everybody qualifies!
Sponsored by the ISSA and Microsoft Student Partners.
REPOST: M&AE Project Teams Recruiting Process for Spring 2010
Interested in exploring project team participation-- Baja SAE, CU Sat, CU Air, Fab@Home, Snake Arm, Auto X Prize, Minesweeper, CU AUV, Formula SAE, Violet Satellite?
Come to the general project team info session on January 26 in Upson Lounge--you'll have the opportunity to talk with team members. For more information about the teams, contacts, and the recruiting process: http://www.mae.cornell.edu/PDF/project/Thinking%20about%20joining%20an%20MAE%20student%20project%20team.pdf
Team Websites: http://mae.cornell.edu/index.cfm/page/undergrad/news.htm
6. How to Place an Ad in the Sundial
RECURRING: How to Place an Ad
Have an upcoming event, announcement, or deadline you'd like Engineering undergraduates to know about? Why not put it in The Sundial?
The Sundial is sent electronically to all Engineering undergraduates each Thursday during the regular academic year. To have your announcement included, e-mail your text (please limit to 100 words or less) to The Sundial address below. Requests will only be posted for two weeks prior to event. Please submit requests once, only.
Please remember that the event/announcement must be engineering-related, and/or sponsored by a student, staff, or faculty member in the College of Engineering. Regrettably, The Sundial is not able to post personal ads.
Deadline for submission to make the Thursday mailings is Wednesday at noon.
Email to
sundial@cornell.edu
