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Militaries around the world are rapidly developing science fiction-like laser weapons, motivated in part by the growing threat from swarms of drones. Read from CU defense expert Iain Boyd on the Conversation.

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CU Boulder students can now expand their skillset with the latest Arduino knowledge – something in high demand in today’s job market.

The (ITLP) at the has launched the first micro-credential that focuses on technical content. Their goal with the new Arduino micro-credential program is to serve students looking to improve their proficiency with Arduino microcontrollers.

“In order to become and stay ProReady in the engineering and applied science job market, students with an earned degree must seek continuing education and training to stay technically relevant,” said Ben Weihrauch, senior director of student professional development. “Earning micro-credentials through CU Engineering, such as Arduino, is a great way to be technically current and augment your degree to be more appealing to an employer.”

Upon successful completion of the Arduino micro-credential program, students will receive a digital badge with achievements of the program's requirements and learning objectives. This endorsement will display the student’s capability of combining and applying knowledge of Arduino, micro-controller, circuits, and electro-mechanical systems. The micro-credential will also serve as evidence that the student is able to optimize the implementation of an Arduino into robust, robotic systems.

The ITLP’s mission is to provide curriculum and support for hands-on engineering education across all engineering disciplines. They offer project consultation and engineering learning to all students. The team is prepared to support up to 10 students for the Arduino micro-credential program’s premiere semester.

For more information about the Arduino micro-credential, please contact ITLP Senior Engineering Project Consultant Lauren Darling via email or . Visit the for additional skill-building workshops and to check out their facilities.

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[video:https://youtu.be/043L6uBva9o]

Keith Molenaar is a first-generation college graduate, meaning he was the first in his family to complete a four-year degree. He is also the K. Stanton Lewis Professor of Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and the acting dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Keith Molenaar

Molenaar was always a scholar, and his family encouraged him to pursue his studies past high school. However, the weight of being the first in his family to attend college added extra pressure to his experience.

“My family truly inspired me,” he said, “but it felt a little overwhelming at times.” 

Molenaar’s path through the university didn’t start in a traditional way.  

“I didn’t just end up here at CU as an undergraduate. Actually, I had a little bit of uncertainty and didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,” he said. “With that pressure from my family, I did pursue school but went to junior colleges to start.” 

Through junior college, Molenaar got the opportunity to explore his other interests, including photography and soccer. 

“I needed that space. I needed to work through the different things I was exploring,” he reminisced. “If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve never found my path to Boulder or found my way to architectural engineering.” 

When Molenaar made the decision to move to Boulder on his 21st birthday, it was the first time he had lived away from his family in Chicago. Eager to find his place at CU, Molenaar joined the club soccer team, participated in group study sessions, and found a part-time job at a restaurant, where he also met his future wife. 

The support he found in his friends and colleagues played a major role in his success in college, which is something he wishes all first-generation students find at CU.  

“I hope that first-generation students know they have something to offer and can learn to make offers,” he said. “Everybody has something to give, more than you probably realize.”  

There are many communities on campus that foster belonging, among them the Broadening Opportunity through Leadership and Diversity (BOLD) Center. 

“The BOLD Center is a place to be, a place to become,” Molenaar said. “And I think the students that participate here make an impact on all the college.” 

Molenaar said he wanted to let students know that lacking confidence in the journey through college is a common struggle in first-generation students “To overcome is being resilient, he said. “You aren’t alone.” 

Bella Colosimo is a second-year graduate student in Creative Technology and Design who assists with first-generation student inclusion efforts in the college.

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Two high school students, Charlotte Gorgemans, who just graduated from Boulder High School and April Tong, now a senior at Fairview High School, have both been volunteering at the , an intersection of the Department of Computer Science and the BioFrontiers Institute at the Â鶹ĘÓƵ regularly for over two years. 

Led by Orit Peleg, an assistant professor in the computer science department, the team seeks to understand the behavior of disordered living systems, including  and fireflies, by merging tools from physics, biology, engineering and computer science. 

The students' work with the lab has led them to submit projects to several science fairs to great success, and benefit the lab's research through their involvement and curiosity. 

A Collaborative Process

 is a PhD student and member of the Peleg lab co-advised by Peleg and , a professor with joint appointments in computer science and electrical and computer engineering. She also serves as a mentor for community volunteers. 

Thinking about Fard, Bradley and Peleg appreciate her deeply. "she a remarkable young scientist — driven, perceptive, smart, broadly trained, and a deep thinker. Her character is reflected in her mentoring and dedication to training the next generation of scientists." Peleg said. 

Fard sees the research process as a collaborative one between the researchers and the hives.

"There is a feedback loop between researchers at one end and then these living organisms at the other end. We really owe a lot of our lives and our food to these small creatures," she said. 

This spirit of mutual give and take is also apparent in the lab's inclusion of community researchers. 

Experimental Curiosity 

Charlotte Gorgemans decided to connect with the Biofrontiers institute two years ago. She was fascinated by the work they were doing, and wanted to understand what a path to research at the undergraduate and graduate level would actually look like. 

"I am very grateful for the guidance I've received, as this mentorship from CU helped me find my path in computer science," Gorgemans said.

She started attending lab meetings regularly, and asked questions she gathered from the lab's experiments. 

Gorgemans, according to Fard, is always curious and active, asking great questions and trying to learn more. With Fard's mentorship, she began to focus on how food is shared in a colony. 

Bees need to share food, but if the food is unhealthy, there is research that suggests the hive will take steps to reduce the number of other bees they interact with. Fard saw that Gorgemans was interested in how models could be used to explain the experimental data she was seeing. 

For her experiment – titled Modeling and Analysis of the Impact of Unhealthy Food on the Honeybee Colony Health â€“ Gorgemans won second place in the BVSD Regional Science Fair' Behavioral Sciences track and received the Ralph Desch Memorial Technical Writing Award from the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair.  

In the fall, she starts her Computer Science degree at CU Boulder. 

Building Model Behavior

April Tong, now a Senior at Fairview High School, started her journey with the BioFrontiers institute through the CU Science Â鶹ĘÓƵy program, which pairs high school students with researchers. 

"I thought it was so cool that, as the lab, we could watch the bees go around and then use computer science to analyze their paths, like what turn angles they use, which normally you wouldn't think of," Tong said. 

When the program was over, she asked if there was any way she could continue volunteering. Fard agreed to mentor her. Through her continued involvement with the lab, Tong became interested in the process of modeling itself and its applications across disciplines, including swarm robotics. 

Tong "focused on the modeling side. She started learning the agent-based programming language that we actually use, which is not easy,”  Fard said. “She started taking classes and ended up writing parts of our code for us."

Tong's experiment â€“ titled Exploring the Clustering Function in the Western Honey Bee for Enhancing the Rate of Liquid Food Exchange and its Applications in Swarm Robotics â€“ received third place in the BVSD Regional Science Fair, and a special award from the Society for In Vitro Biology. 

Fresh Perspectives 

Fard believes in the power of community volunteers both for the lab and for the students. 

"What I really like about working with high school students is that they look at the problem with a very fresh perspective. The moment they think of something to ask, that's what I want to hear." Fard said.

Because the students are not yet subject-area experts, they can think through a question without immediately jumping to the tools or existing research. This openness can lead to a fresh question outside of the sometimes intensely entangled world of academia.  

Both Gorgemans and Tong were deeply grateful to Fard, Peleg and Bradley for their time and respect. They felt their involvement in the lab mattered and appreciated the skills the Peleg lab helped them acquire. 

Fard also appreciates seeing those skills building. 

"After working with these volunteers for two years, I can see the impacts of their involvement with the lab in the way they think. It's a small amount of time for the mentor, but I see a huge impact on the students."

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