Phinnize Fisher Middle School Visit

October 14, 2019

On October 14, 2019, over 80 students from Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School (PJFMS) attended a seminar event held at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). The event, which had been in the works for a few months, was inspired by a teacher at PJFMS, Mr. Chris Beyerle. Dr. Schmid was invited as a speaker by Dr. Venkat Krovi, the lead on the event. The event was meant for the students to get a firsthand look at the research presented at CU-ICAR, but also to show the students why a career in engineering is relevant.

INSIDE THE AUDITORIUM

These 80 students were led by Mr. Chris Beyerle and another teacher at PJFMS, Mr. Matt Taylor. Mr. Beyerle is the Gateway to Technology teacher while Mr. Taylor is the Robotics teacher at the middle school.

Dr. Venkat Krovi, Dr. Matthias Schmid, and Dr. Yunyi Jia (pictured left to right) gave presentations on their own work, explaining why it is relevant and why these students should consider a career in robotics, engineering, etc. To this group of budding engineers, these topics resonated with them deeply.

Dr. Matthias Schmid

Dr. Matthias Schmid is a Research Assistant Professor at Clemson University. He aligns his research in the area of control and estimation of dynamic systems under uncertainty. His interests range from the modeling of dynamic systems and the advancement of estimation theory to the mathematical treatment of stochastic differential equations.

"Your topics were spot on and very relevant to what we want our students to know about the future of robotics and engineering career field options" - Mr. Chris Beyerle

FIRST FLOOR LAB TOUR

After the presentation, the students split into their respective classes to go on a tour of our facility here at CU-ICAR. Apart from our robotics labs, we are proud to host other incredible research areas. The students were able to get a peek at a Deep Orange car located just outside of the main lab space.

INSIDE THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE LABORATORY

The students made their way up to the fourth floor mezzanine, an area now occupied by grad students, but serves as the perfect viewpoint of the CAV lab space. They attended another presentation given by two students in Automotive Engineering, Mugdha Basuthakur, one of Dr. Schmid's PhD candidates, and Ardashir Bulsara, a masters student.

Ardashir Bulsara and Mugdha Basuthakur (pictured left to right) took turns giving presentations to the middle school students. They used their expertise to explain what happens in the world of robotics - particularly what happens in CU-ICAR's world of robotics

This event was just one of many ways in which Dr. Schmid is able to express his areas of expertise. He hopes to welcome them back for a more personalized experience within his lab.

A special thanks to PJFMS teachers and Elle Vandermeade for coordinating, organizing, and photographing the event.

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