THE SUNDIAL - A weekly newsletter for Engineering Undergraduates
View THE SUNDIAL on-line at http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/news/sundial
The deadline for submissions to each Thursday's Sundial is Wednesday Noon..
1. Announcements
RECURRING: New Category Added to Engineering Liberal Studies Requirement
RECURRING: The Lowdown on Identifying Liberal Studies Courses
RECURRING: New Dean's List Requirements!
REPOST: Courses of Study Update - ORIE
2. Important Dates and Deadlines
RECURRING: Important Dates and Deadlines for Fall 2009
3. Academics
NEW: Cornell-Cantabria Exchange Program (Study in Spain!)
NEW: EAS Seminar
NEW: MSE Seminar
NEW: New Course Offering - ENGRI 1140
NEW: BEE 6870 Seminar Series: The Science and Engineering Challenges to the Development of Sustainable Biobased Industries
REPOST: Materials Science and Engineering Department Seminar
REPOST: All You Need to Know About Changing Colleges Within Cornell
REPOST: Special Speaker Series Designed Especially for Undergraduates: Sustainable Earth, Energy, and Environmental Systems
REPOST: Internal Transfer to Arts & Sciences Info Session
4. Events and Opportunities
NEW: Douglas Whitney '61 Award Winner
NEW: Engineering Recruiting
NEW: Engineering Co-op and Career Services
NEW: Master Your Future: Developing Your Personal Brand
REPOST: Become a Peer Tutor!
5. Engineering Student Groups and Projects
NEW: M&AE Project Teams
NEW: Engineering Career Fair Team (ECaFT) Recruiting!
NEW: StrengthsFinder 2.0 Workshop
REPOST: ECE In Point Competition
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.
RECURRING: New Dean's List Requirements!
Starting Fall 2009, the criteria for earning Dean's List has been revised. The new criteria for all Engineering undergraduate students is a semester GPA greater than or equal to 3.5 (without rounding); no failing, unsatisfactory, missing or incomplete grades (even in physical education); and at least 12 letter-grade credits (not S/U). These new requirements apply to all current students. Please contact the Engineering Registrar's Office, 158 Olin Hall (255-7140), if you have any questions.
REPOST: Courses of Study Update - ORIE
ORIE 3150, Financial & Managerial Accounting, will NOT be offered in Spring 2010.
2. Important Dates and Deadlines
RECURRING: Important Dates and Deadlines for Fall 2009
TUES, 10.27.09 - FRI, 11.20.09
Pre-enrollment for SPRING 2010 begins/ends for each class:
DATES ARE TENTATIVE: All periods begin at 7am and end at 4:30pm
Graduate/Professional Students 10.21.09 - 10.23.09
Current Senior Students* 10.26.09 - 10.28.09
Current Junior Students 10.28.09 - 10.30.09
Current Sophomore Students 11.02.09 - 11.04.09
Current Freshmen Students 11.04.09 - 11.06.09
*Seniors graduating at the end of this semester and continuing in the MENG program will enroll in January.
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: Cornell-Cantabria Exchange Program (Study in Spain!)
Are you interested in studying engineering in a foreign country?
Do you have some Spanish but want to take your engineering classes in English?
Check out http://ceeserver.cee.cornell.edu/eac20/spain/
And come to the program's next informational meeting:
Monday, November 9, 4:30 - 5:30pm
201 Hollister Hall
For more information, or if you are interested but cannot attend:
Contact Professor Cowen
eac23@cornell.edu
NEW: EAS Seminar
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
3:30pm, 2146 Snee Hall.
"Deciphering the Structure of Seismicity: Implications for Plate Tectonic Processes"
Felix Waldhauser, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Refreshments at 3pm in the Snee Hall Reading Room.
NEW: MSE Seminar
Thursday, November 12, 2009
4:30pm, 140 Bard Hall
"Nanocrystal Solids: A Modular Approach to Materials Design"
Prof. Dmitri Talapin, from the University of Chicago.
Refreshments will precede the seminar at 4:00pm in the MS&E Lounge, Bard 260.
NEW: New Course Offering - ENGRI 1140
Materials: Enabling the Future of Energy
Spring 2010, Lecture/discussion: MWF 1:25 - 2:15,
Lab Sections: M,T,F 2:30 - 4:30
Course Instructor: R. Bruce van Dover
This course is an intro class designed for freshmen, and has no prerequisites. ENGRI 1140 discusses new technologies that are urgently needed to fulfill projected global energy requirements. Materials properties typically limit the performance that can be achieved in generation, transport, and utilization of energy. This course will explore how new materials can increase our energy supply and decrease consumption. Materials issues in photovoltaic, fuel cell, battery, wind, transportation, lighting, and building technologies will be studied.
Through integrated lab-based activities students will develop a broad understanding of materials issues in order to successfully design and build an energy storage system. There is a highly integrated Lab component is a key aspect of this course, and differentiates it from other ENGRI courses. In the Lab sections, the students will design and build an energy system--in Spring 2010 a Li-ion battery--for which a wide range of materials issues must be considered.
For more information, please visit: http://mse.cornell.edu/mse/engri1140/index.html or contact rbv2@cornell.edu
NEW: BEE 6870 Seminar Series: The Science and Engineering Challenges to the Development of Sustainable Biobased Industries
"Studying Asymmetric Cell Division using a Systems Approach"
Thursday, November 5
1:25-2:15pm, 125 Riley-Robb Hall
Speaker: Xiling Shen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Cornell University
Systems biology and synthetic biology are emerging fields that try to tackle complex biological questions from a system engineering perspective rather than looking at one reaction a time. In traditional engineering disciplines, tools and concepts have been developed for analyzing and designing intricate machineries, which can be leveraged for systems and synthetic biology. In this talk, I will first demonstrate how to use hybrid system modeling from control theory to model the /Caulobacter /cell cycle regulatory network. An analysis of the robustness of this /in silico /model by formal verification tools adapted from silicon circuit design further revealed mechanisms that were not detectable under normal conditions. For my ongoing synthetic biology project, we will show how to design modular scaffold proteins with controllable stoichiometry to further study the asymmetric aspects of the cell division cycle.
Open to the Cornell Community.
REPOST: Materials Science and Engineering Department Seminar
Thursday, November 5, 2009
4:30pm, 140 Bard Hall
"New Approaches to Modeling Fuel Cells: Catalytic Activity and Stability in PEMFC and SOFC", given by Prof. Dane Morgan, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Refreshments will precede the seminar at 4:00pm in the MS&E Lounge, Bard 260.
REPOST: All You Need to Know About Changing Colleges Within Cornell
Not sure if your college is right for you?
Confused about the internal transfer process?
Wondering how you will choose courses for next semester if you want to transfer?
Come get information about all of these questions and more!
Neoma Mullens, Director of the Internal Transfer Division, will lead a discussion to
address many common questions and concerns regarding transferring within Cornell.
Monday, November 9
4:45-5:45pm
Room 3330
Carol Tatkon Center, S. Balch Hall
Sponsored by the Carol Tatkon Center, Internal Transfer Division, and Residential Programs/Campus Life.
REPOST: Special Speaker Series Designed Especially for Undergraduates: Sustainable Earth, Energy, and Environmental Systems
November 16
Local Success: Cornell University and Ithaca College
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, 11/10
Tuesday, 11/24
All meetings are at 4:45pm in the auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall.
4. Events and Opportunities
NEW: Douglas Whitney '61 Award Winner
Skyler Schneider, a senior in ECE, has recently been selected as the 2009 winner of the Douglas Whitney '61 Award for excellence in writing in an Engineering Communications course. Skyler won the $1500 award for his final report, titled Implementing Detection of Tamper-Resistant Kernel Rootkits.
NEW: Engineering Recruiting
MIT Lincoln Laboratory - Info Session
All students are invited to attend.
Thursday, November 5
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Olin 255
Cintas Corporation - Info Session
All undergraduate students are invited to attend.
Sunday, November 8
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Statler Hotel Yale/Princeton Room
NEW: Engineering Co-op and Career Services
Monday, November 9
5:00 pm, Olin 155
Master Your Future: Developing Your Personal Brand
Presented by Deloitte, LLP
Tuesday, November 10
4:45pm, Hollister 110
Group Resume Review
Wednesday, November 11
4:45pm, Hollister 110
Group Resume Review
NEW: Master Your Future: Developing Your Personal Brand
Monday November 9, 2009
5pm, Olin 155
Have you ever felt uncomfortable communicating your accomplishments to others? Do you wish you could do a better job at promoting yourself and your capabilities? If so, then this workshop is for you....
-Develop a personal PR profile that will help you better leverage your existing credentials and build new ones more effectively
-Understand practical, tactical processes for better aligning your relationship networks with your personal eminence goals
-Recognize the power of putting in place a personal board of directors--understanding who you need and ways to garner their commitment in helping you achieve your goals
Info Session sponsored by Diversity Programs in Engineering.
REPOST: Become a Peer Tutor!
Engineering Learning Initiatives has positions open for peer tutors in Math 1910 and Chem 2090. Pay is $8/hour. If interested, please complete an application for these positions at http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/student-services/learning/peer-tutoring/become-tutor.cfm
5. Engineering Student Groups and Projects
NEW: M&AE Project Teams
Interested in exploring project team participation?
Heard of teams such as Minesweeper, CU AUV, Formula SAE, Violet?
You can find out about these teams, who to contact if you have questions, and how to join. Come to the general project team info session tentatively scheduled for January 26 in Upson Lounge.
For more information about the teams, contacts, and the recruiting process, contact Emily Tompkins Minturn at eft24@cornell.edu
NEW: Engineering Career Fair Team (ECaFT) Recruiting!
Apply to become an Associate with the Engineering Career Fair Team [ECaFT]!
ECaFT is an undergraduate student organization dedicated to the planning and execution of the Spring Technical Career Fair. If you want to become part of a team that organizes a large scale event to help thousands of Cornell students network with employers and learn about job opportunities, go to http://www.rso.cornell.edu/ecaft/ and fill out an application.
Applications are due November 13th and you may submit them at ecaft@cornell.edu. We are looking for dedicated underclassmen from all engineering majors.
NEW: StrengthsFinder 2.0 Workshop
Do you have the opportunity every day to do what you do best?
The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), the Asian/Asian American Center (AAAC), and the Cornell Asian Pacific-Islander Student Union (CAPSU) present:
StrengthsFinder 2.0 Workshop
StrengthsFinder is a self assessment of inner strengths and talents based on 40 years of research. It started as a best selling book/workshop for corporations and managers, but quickly became popular with the general public. It was featured on Oprah!
Participants take a short online assessment and receive the StrengthsFinder book which describes and quantifies the 34 most common strengths. StrengthsFinder's 34 Themes:
Achiever ? Connectedness ? Harmony ? Relator
Activator ? Consistency ? Ideation ? Responsibility
Adaptability ? Context ? Includer ? Restorative
Analytical ? Deliberative ? Individualization ? Self-Assurance
Arranger ? Developer ? Input ? Significance
Belief ? Discipline ? Intellection ? Strategic
Command ? Empathy ? Learner ? Woo
Communication ? Focus ? Maximizer
Competition ? Futuristic ? Positivity
To reserve your spot in the Workshop, you must email sase.cornell.edu, or for more information go to:
http://www.strengthsfinder.com
Open to all Cornell students! (limited seating available)
REPOST: ECE In Point Competition
ECE in Point: The weekly power-point competition spotlighting cutting edge innovations in electrical and computer engineering.
Submit your entry now for a chance at this week's $15 cash prize.
Contest Details:
Submissions due Fridays at noon.
Send submissions to ieee.cornell@gmail.com
Use the subject-line "IEEE powerpoint competition" in your email when submitting your entry.
Made possible by the Cornell branch IEEE
(Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers)
http://ieee.ece.cornell.edu
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
