Freshman Seminars 2022 Spring
| Instructor | Seminar title (full) | Seminar title (short) | Proposed location | Proposed day & time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asantha R Cooray | acooray@uci.edu | Advanced Photography | Photography | TBD | Friday 2 pm (TBD) |
| Claudia I Czimczik | czimczik@uci.edu | Discovering Earth System Science and the Science behind Climate Change | Discovering Earth System Science | Meeting #1: Anteater Recreation Center Meeting #2: Coastal Peak Park, Newport Beach Meeting #3: UCI Crew Base at Shellmaker Island | The course needs to meet 3 times for 3 hours. We propose to meet every other week, starting the week of April 11 (4/11, 4/25, 5/9). Any day of the week can work (no weekends). Good times would be 9 am to noon, 10 am – 1 pm, 11 am – 2 pm, or noon – to 3. |
| Diego Rosso | bidui@uci.edu | BUBBLES | BUBBLES | No preference | THU 3:00-3:50pm |
| Fangyuan Ding | dingfy@uci.edu | Genes | Genes | General Assignment Classroom is perfectly fine with me. I'd appreciate if we could have the room close to the ISEB building. | TBD |
| Jb Manchak | jmanchak@uci.edu | So You Want to Be a Zen Master? | Zen Master? | Outside in Aldrich Park. | 2-3 Tuesday 2-3 Thursday |
| Tyrus H Miller | tyrus@uci.edu | Avant-Garde? Art, Provocation, and Scandal | Avant-Garde? | GAC Smart Room | M 10am, M 9am, M 11am |
| Joel Robert Veenstra | jveenstr@uci.edu | How Comedy Works | Comedy | Claire Trevor School of the Arts CAC 3100B or another available space - I can schedule this myself directly through my department MSO Marcus L. Beeman, mbeeman@uci.edu - thank you! | Tuesdays, 5-5:50 pm |
| Solmaz Kia | solmaz@uci.edu | A Gentle Introduction to Robot Motion Planning | Robot Motion | tbd (please contact instructor for preferences) | tbd (please contact instructor for preferences) |
| Vy Dong | dongv@uci.edu | A Gentle Introduction to Organic Chemistry | Organic Chemistry | tbd (please contact instructor for preferences) | tbd (please contact instructor for preferences) |
| Brian J. Cummings | cummings@uci.edu | Succeeding in Biomedical Sciences/Healthcare for First Generation and/or Minority Students | 1ST GENS IN BIOMED | Sue and Bill Gross Hall, Building 845, room 2005 | Wednesday 4-5PM • Tuesdays 4-5PM • Monday 4-5PM |
| Alexandre Chan | a.chan@uci.edu | Life After Cancer | Life After Cancer | None, but perhaps near Bison Modular / Natural Science if there are venues. Alex | Tuesdays 2-3pm or 3-4pm |
A Gentle Introduction to Robot Motion Planning
A robot’s ability to plan its movement without explicit human guidance is a basic prerequisite for robotic autonomy. The objective of motion planning algorithms is to enable an autonomous mobile robot to determine its movements in a cluttered environment to achieve various goals while avoiding collisions. This seminar series cover deterministic classical motion planning algorithms, including sensor-based planning, decomposition and search-based planning. The course intends to expose undergraduate students (Engineering and Computer Science) to solution approaches to problems that they may encounter in emerging technologies and disciplines such as autonomous driving and transportation, smart manufacturing, and general mechanical and aerospace robotic applications.
Solmaz S. Kia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine (UCI). She has a joint appointment with the Computer Science Department of UCI. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCI, in 2009, and her M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology, Iran, in 2004 and 2001, respectively. She was a senior research engineer at SySense Inc., El Segundo, CA from Jun. 2009–Sep. 2010. She held postdoctoral positions in the Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering at the UC San Diego and UCI. She was the recipient of UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2012–2014. She is also a recipient of 2017 NSF CAREER award. Dr. Kia’s main research interests, in a broad sense, include nonlinear control theory, distributed optimization/coordination/estimation, and probabilistic robotics.
A Gentle Introduction to Organic Chemistry
Course objective: The goal of this course is to introduce you to concepts in organic chemistry that will help you prepare for the CHEM51 series at UC Irvine. We will share strategies and discuss topics useful to you in organic chemistry and beyond. Our main focus will be on how to think about organic molecules as three-dimensional objects. And so, you’ll learn about stereochemistry and conformational analysis. The course will also emphasize the importance of teaching as a strategy for learning. Students will have the chance to practice presentation skills with individual feedback and advice provided by your instructor.
Instructor Biosketch: My name is Vy Dong and I’m a full professor in the chemistry department at UC Irvine where I lead a research team that specializes in organic chemistry. In this freshman seminar, I look forward to sharing with you why o-chem is central to what we know about almost everything around us, including our medicines, food, and fuels. Aside from teaching chemistry, I’m very interested in the topic of how we learn. This course will incorporate the latest neuroscience on learning to help students develop strategies for making things stick. My ultimate goal is to help you ace organic chemistry, while having more time to enjoy your college experience and sleep 8 hours a day.
Succeeding in Biomedical Sciences/Healthcare for First Generation and/or Minority Students
The practice of medicine and biomedical research, supported by Federal and State funding to improve the health of all our citizens, are supposed to be fact-based and color blind. But in practice, how is biomedical research actually conducted? Are women and minorities treated equally? Do they receive equal pay for equal work? While exploring these issues, we will also discuss strategies for how first generation and underrepresented students can be successful in biomedical research on campus.
Dr. Cummings is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Anderson is the Director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. Together, they have mentored numerous 1st generation and URM students.
Life After Cancer
Course Description: The Big ‘C’ is always a misnomer to many. In fact, cancer is no longer a fatal disease, and survivors of cancer can live long post-treatment. Through a series of seminars, students will learn how cancer has evolved into a chronic condition in many patients, especially among those who are cured. Students will also learn about the long-term complications of cancer treatment, as well as cutting-edge research that is currently undertaking around the globe to mitigate these complications.
Brief Bio: Alex Chan is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice. As an oncology pharmacist at Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alex provides care to cancer patients and survivors, and he conducts translational and health services research with an aim to improve supportive and survivorship care.