Students Showcase Research, Clinic Projects May 5–7

Work has been under way since last summer to develop a software library for Mozilla, Intel and the National University of Singapore that will support advanced computer vision applications for web browsers. The City of Hope has been working with a team since fall to create an automated system to track instruments in an operating room. Researchers are studying the chemical composition and solar radiation absorption properties of aerosols and fog water to determine their affects on climate, and, in another lab, they are developing an artificial human cornea replacement.

All of this work and more is being carried out by undergraduates at Harvey Mudd College, which celebrates student achievement by showcasing their work during three days of presentations, May 5 through May 7, on campus. All events are free and open to the public.

Presentation Days

Student research is an integral part of the Harvey Mudd College experience, and during Presentation Days each spring, the entire College community is invited to celebrate students’ original projects in design or research. Students in every major discipline—biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, physics, plus the humanities, social sciences, and the arts—will present research done with a faculty member or work that is part of a class project on May 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on May 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

More than 200 students participate in Presentation Days, and every department and class is well represented—from groundbreaking individual research done by graduating seniors to engaging and eye-opening design projects done by first-year students. A student art show featuring photography and videos and a jazz concert highlighting the work of Bud Powell will top off the celebration on Wednesday night.

“Our students grapple with real-world problems through individual and group research and design projects across all disciplines. Many professors use these projects as powerful teaching tools that promote learning well beyond the classroom and the laboratory,” said Jeff Groves, vice president and R. Michael Shanahan Dean of the Faculty. “For many Harvey Mudd students, these intense research opportunities spark a lifelong love for a previously unconsidered field, help them lead diverse teams from many varied disciplines and provide them with the flexibility to change careers over time.”

Clinic Program/Projects Day

On May 6, the focus will be on the Clinic Program, an internationally recognized hallmark of Harvey Mudd College that engages juniors and seniors in solving real-world, technical problems for industrial clients. Founded as an innovation in engineering education in 1963, Clinic is a collaborative program between industry and the College that has been emulated by institutions worldwide. This year, 42 student teams will share their solutions to the challenges posed to them by 37 corporate sponsors. Many of the sponsors have completed several projects with Harvey Mudd College. This year, two of them will be honored for participation milestones: Lockheed Martin, who first sponsored a Clinic project in 1965, celebrates 35 projects, and Intel Corporation, a sponsor since 1984, celebrates 10.

Since the inception of Clinic, more than 1,400 projects have been completed for about 400 corporate, national laboratory, and agency sponsors. Companies retain all intellectual property rights that arise out of the project, and it is not uncommon for Harvey Mudd students to be named on patents. In recent years, Clinic sponsors have averaged between 10 and 15 patent disclosures at the end of their projects.