Freshman engineering students in the Viterbi School’s Freshman
Academies held their own version of the Academy Awards April 13, voting
on the best of eight student film projects designed to educate eighth
and ninth grade students about engineering and all of its career
possibilities.
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The winners say a few words.
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The challenge was to present engineering in ways that would engage and
inform a younger audience of students who might be interested in
pursuing the field, said Michael Crowley, a senior lecturer in computer
science and one of the Academy instructors.
“Each of the eight Academies was divided into smaller groups, which set
out to create their own multimedia presentations of engineering,
Crowley said. “The audience is 14-to-15-year-olds. Most of the
projects turned out to be video productions.”
Approximately 320 freshmen engineering students gathered in the
multimedia auditorium in Seeley G. Mudd for the “2006 Viterbis.” After
the films were shown, they voted and broke for a pizza party in the
lobby. Awards were presented during the second half of the
program by Stephen Bucher, director of the USC Engineering Writing
Program, and Louise Yates, associate dean of Admission and Student
Affairs.
Taking first place was ”Engineers with Attitude — 99 Problems,” a rap
and music video designed to explore the fields of civil engineering,
mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. The winning team
included Andrew Bondor, Abe Kislevitz, Sayre Peralta, Steven Schwartz
and Jeremy Wustman, all second semester freshmen, and was led by
Freshman Academy instructor Ted Lee, an assistant professor of chemical
engineering.
Second place went to ”The Real Engineering World: Magic Mountain,” a
look at some of the rides at Magic Mountain and how they work. The
video presentation was produced by Artak Arakelian, Julian Bactaclan,
Jeremiah Givens, Patrick Juarez, and John Montes De Oca, and was led by
Academy instructor Erik Johnson, an associate professor of civil and
environmental engineering.
Third place for technical merit and best educational value went to
“Rollercoaster: Engineering the World’s #1 Ride,” created by freshmen
students Farzana Ansari, Chase Femrite, David Reese and Sasha Sookhoo,
and also led by Erik Johnson.
Other student videos included:
-- “The Electrical Interpretation of Thought,” a parody on the X-Men
focusing instead on the recently discovered phenomena of scientists who
are able to convert the thoughts of rats into electrical signals, using
those signals to perform motor functions. The team consisted of
Francesco Dandekar, Daniel DeMoss, Elea Grotter, Ann Jun, and Ning
Zhou, and was led by Academy instructor Mark Redekopp, a senior
lecturer of electrical engineering systems.
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Rows were reserved for each of the eight Freshman Academy classes and their instructors. |
-- “Engineering A Thrill,” an adventure into aerobatics, bunge-jumping
and thrill rides to illustrate “g” forces and how they act on the body
in motion. “Engineering amplifies, reduces or alters the
excitement we cannot attain in our everyday lives,” the students
explained in their summary of the video. Team members were Zach
Bass, Yi Ta Chen, Caitlyn Fahey, Jeff Rodgers and Tanner Yaberg, led by
instructor Najmedin Meshkati, an associate professor of civil and
environmental engineering.
-- “Mission Impossible: Retrieve Tommy Trojan.” In this
action-packed film, Tommy Trojan has been stolen from USC by terrorists
from UCLA. A team of engineers from the Viterbi School must band
together and use their talents to retrieve him. The team included
Ali Bhagat, Mario Endo, Sherwin Gao, Eric Henderson, Jimmy Kerr and
Shen Soh, and was led by Academy instructor Ted Lee.
-- “Engineers Gone Wild,” a humorous infomercial addressing some
misconceptions about the engineering profession. Students use wit
and different locations around campus to illustrate that some of the
most exciting and fun jobs are found in engineering. David Arbanas,
Ryan Green, Ben Hartard, Ryan Moran and David Schauer-West comprised
the team, and Michael Crowley served as leader.
-- “Revenge,” a film depicting the 10 steps of the engineering process
as it relates to a confrontation between a bully and a nerd. The film
uses humor to show that engineers are entering a more lucrative field
than their peers and that the process of becoming an engineer is a
small price to pay for a lifetime of satisfaction. Produced by Torin
Kampa, Courtney Marshall, Kelly Phillips, Justin Reyes, Julian Soro,
and Kai Stephan, and led by instructor Michael Crowley
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A Night at the Academies — Students filled a Seeley Mudd auditorium for the awards night and pizza party.
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The Freshman Academies are designed to introduce entering freshmen to
the social, political and ethical impact of engineering on society.
Launched in 2003, the program sponsors special cross-disciplinary
lectures throughout the year, and occasionally arranges for tours of
campus laboratories and field trips to engineering companies in Los
Angeles.
