WEBFX

Proposals & Abstracts

Utilizing Extended Reality Platforms for Diverse and Inclusive Recruitment

This abstract was accepted for presentation & publication at the 2023 Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineering national conference!

Virtual recruitment is poised to be the most effective way to engage with diverse audiences. For many current and prospective students, access to existing recruitment experiences (e.g., career fairs, university ambassadors, academic advisors, etc.) may be limited by socioeconomic, geographical, and/or accessibility factors. In response, novel recruitment tools and approaches are needed to sufficiently meet informational needs while overcoming growing barriers. The Grado Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech is committed to being a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion with in the College of Engineering and ISE discipline, at large. With this in mind, efforts have been set in motion to develop and implement an accessibly effective virtual reality recruiting platform. Preliminary assessment of a prototype platform determined that virtual engagement increases interest in ISE as a potential major by about 49%. In iterative design fashion, the current research and development process seeks to improve the developed virtual reality recruitment platform, in preparation for initial deployment, by engaging in semi-structured focus groups and usability testing with a diverse population of students across general engineering and ISE while specifically seeking feedback from students of underserved and underrepresented populations. Once obtained and analyzed, feedback regarding modality differences, information retention, degree interest, and other factors will provide insights for further development and deployment. In sum, developing and implementing an effective virtual reality recruitment platform is expected to facilitate continued growth of the department in all aspects of diversity – especially with respect to the student body.

Analysis & Reports

IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS IN A RESEARCH-BASED ROBOTIC DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

This is a section of a risk and hazard analysis report submitted to a robotics research lab at Virginia Tech. Based on the identified hazards and mitigation plans, researchers are able to prioritize their health and safety during development.

As a tendon-actuated robot, the Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) is driven by a large motor at the base of the kingpin. As it moves, the motor creates a low-level vibration. While activated, no workers should be in contact with the motor. However, the vibration carries through the base that stabilizes the kingpin and grounds the robot’s motions. The original LSMS, which is located at NASA Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA), is mounted directly into the concrete of the warehouse floor. However, due to the regulation of the Blacksburg warehouse, it was impossible to mount the LSMS to the concrete. Instead, its star base is concealed by a platform above the concrete floor. Any vibration from the motor at the base of the kingpin carries through the platform as well. 

During development and testing, graduate students remain on the platform for periods of time longer than a standard 8-hour work day. Because it is intended for in-space operations, the LSMS moves exceptionally slowly - mere inches per minute. As such, any operation will take an extended period of time and will require long-term monitoring. At least one student should remain in the main work area (usually on the platform, although they may step off briefly for a negligible amount of time) while the LSMS is active. In addition, any students working on simultaneous development of the other robots situated on the platform while the LSMS is in motion will also be exposed to the same vibration. The vibration through the LSMS platform creates a whole-body vibration which is transferred to the students. There is no well-stated regulatory requirement for vibration. However, in general, 0.5-80 Hz of vibration is associated with health effects such as low-back pain, gastrointestinal disorders, or vestibular disorders. 0.1-0.5 Hz is associated with a general sense of motion sickness (Dickerson, 2022).

Interviews

The Experience: Connor Rudd

This was an interview conducted with Connor Rudd, one of the feature twirlers of the Marching Virginians, the marching band at Virginia Tech. It was published as part of an ongoing interview series called “The Experience”.

Twirling: batons spinning through the air, passed from one twirler to another as they run across the field. But to Marching Virginians senior Connor Rudd, twirling is something else.

“[To me,] twirling means the ability to interact with a wide variety of people, all connected by the same talent - that’s twirling. You get people from all over the world...and they can all connect through this one thing.”

Connor started twirling 15 years ago, at the age of 5. He watched color guard spin rifles in a parade and spun pool noodles at home. His mother scoured the internet and found twirling - a primarily collegiate activity - and helped keep him stay motivated until he reached college.

In high school, Connor was on the football team until he realized that an injury would risk his ability to twirl. For the first time, there was also a new element: the fear of being made fun of. Twirling was seen as feminine, with thousands of girls competing, while football was more ‘manly’. But as he matured, he found that it was more important to do what he loved and to show people his passion.

Fiction & Creative Writing

“Crows in the Wind”

This is a section from a creative piece written in late 2022. As of December 2022, I have written over 143,000 words - more than 350 novel-sized pages!

Vale didn’t consider himself to be a vigilante. 

Vigilantes were good people trying to do good things - people who stepped up to protect others. They did what they did because it was the right thing to do. (At least, according to his books.) Hell, more often than not, the people called vigilantes were more heroes than the actual heroes - the pompous assholes who paraded around for the media, wearing the title that had been given to them like it was a crown. None of those “heroes” had ever looked at him and decided that he was worth defending. 

Vale was not a good person. He had been in his fair share of fights, knuckles worn with scars that spoke of brutal victory and bruises hidden beneath oversized hoodies. He was selfish. When he picked someone to stand beside him, he defended them because they were one of his - not out of any goodness. It was loyalty, pure and cruel. It did not make him a good person. 

No. Vale was an artist. The streets were his canvas, ink-stained hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. The sirens of police cars were a symphony, the rhythm of boots against concrete serving as percussion that drove the melody. The alleyways welcomed him with open arms. With every tag, he left a piece of himself on the city he had been born into. 

It was dangerous, yes, but it was addicting. How beautiful it was to be unknown, to be hidden, to be chased.