RE: TOWN HALL SUMMARY
Hi Undergraduates!
Happy Fall! I hope everyone’s semester is well under way as we wrap up week 4!
Our first Town Hall Meeting went very well so I wanted to share the recording (link here:
Kristen S. Labazzo, Ph.D., MBA
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Undergraduate Program Director Department of Biomedical Engineering Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 599 Taylor Rd.
Piscataway, NJ 08854
https://rutgers.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/BME+Undergraduate+Town+Hall-20200917+2203- 1.mp4/1_be28d6by ) and also provide a summary of key information.
Advising: this month, students should hear from their assigned BME advisors who act as a first point of contact for information. If advisors don’t have the answers, they will know where to send you. If you don’t receive an email from your advisor by October 5th, please contact me.
Return to Research: High-level conversations are occurring in the university and slowly starting to trickle down to SOE. At this moment, the earliest UGs may be allowed in the labs is mid-October. If and when on-campus undergraduate research is permitted in SoE, the process for individual students will begin with the research advisor. The research advisor must believe that the research training is essential and will ask the student to complete request forms, which will be submitted by the advisor. Independent requests from students will not be considered. No student will be required to return to campus for research; it is strictly voluntary. Those that are ultimately approved will be required to complete a COVID-19 test and safety training and agree to comply with university and department policies. All of this information will be provided once BME has been given the official green light to start the process.
New Faculty: We welcomed Dr. Natalie Macon and Dr. Valerie Tutwiler to our dept!
Dr. Macon started in December, shortly before we went remote, so you may not have had a chance to meet her yet. Dr. Macon is a teaching professor with 30 years of industry experience, so she is looking forward to teaching classes and providing career guidance.
Dr. Tutwiler, who started in September, received her doctorate from Drexel University and then did a post-doc at UPenn. She has training in both BME and the hospital setting and is passionate about multidisciplinary work. Her research aims to better understand what causes bleeding and thrombosis.
Clubs: We heard from the following organizations who shared their GroupMe links for anyone wanting more info: e-NABLE: https://groupme.com/join_group/62176610/4hYh4JFe
Engineering Medical Society: https://groupme.com/join_group/45256874/o8yjIlmt
BMES: https://groupme.com/join_group/44191914/rwF5H7
AEMB contact info: rutgersuniversityaemb@gmail.com.
Q&A: Dr. Shreiber and I fielded many questions. Of note were concerns about Proctortrack which prompted an update from Dr. Shreiber regarding the new academic integrity policy http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/ and the establishment of an Academic Integrity Facilitator in each dept. Bottom line; DON’T CHEAT. Trust is a two-way street; if faculty are implementing what may appear to be harsh policies regarding cheating, most likely they had an unpleasant experience in the past.
Students also asked about how to get research experience, and were encouraged to seek out formal programs for research such as Aresty or JJ Slade, or to speak to faculty whose research interests them, to see if there are opportunities. One student suggested joining BMES as several students in that organization are working in labs. Regarding industry experience, an info session regarding the BME-Co-Op program will be held in October. Details to follow.
Finally, the feedback from the attendees was that remote learning is going well so far! Students are pleased with how their classes are going and are happy with the improved communication. The town hall was also useful, and I was encouraged to hold additional meetings in the future, so stay tuned!
I hope everyone’s semester continues to go well and remember to please contact me with any questions or concerns!
Regards,
Kristen Labazzo