Return to the Oval Full Schedule

History of Technology: A Cultural & Contextual Approach - Robert Martello

• Location: MAC 326
• Course Type: AHSE1100-01 Arts, Humanities, Social Science Foundation Topic
• Throughout the semester we will investigate different history of technology narratives by employing a variety of analytical frameworks. Our narrative case studies range from bronze age societal studies to cutting edge AI and sustainability technologies, and throughout the semester we will compare and contrast these narratives in search of larger insights. We will identify and employ analytical frameworks such as large technological systems; paradigms and scientific revolutions; technologies and political values; ethical theories; and the environmental and sustainability implications of technologies. Throughout the semester we will engage these narratives and frameworks through targeted writing activities, debates, individual and group presentations, readings and videos, and in-class discussions. Students will have a high degree of autonomy, and will set and evaluate their own learning objectives, determine the topic for their final projects, and design and facilitate in-class activities throughout the semester. 

Advanced Digital Photography – Helen Donis-Keller 

• Location: MAC 313
• Course Type: AHSE3130-01
• In this project-based course, students will develop a personal photographic point of view matched with consistently well-crafted imagery informed by the work of leading contemporary photographers. While communication with visual images is paramount, technical issues will be addressed in some depth. For example, there will be instruction and practice with image capture and editing including High Dynamic Range (HDR) exposure and processing, color management methods and printing, Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop tools and techniques, graphic design and book production methods. Initial projects will stimulate creative thinking and group critiques will help monitor progress and inspire new directions. The culminating project will be the design and production of a photography-based book by each member of the class. A critical awareness of the medium of fine art photography will be fostered through selected readings, discussions, and visits to galleries and museums. 

Technology, Accessibility, and Design – Paul Ruvolo 

• Location: MAC 228
• Course Type: ENGR3252-01
• This course equips students with an interdisciplinary set of tools to design, build, and critique technologies that mediate access to physical and digital worlds. We will use disability as a lens to examine the ways in which technology (e.g., assistive, medical, consumer) can both enhance and diminish access to economic, social, and informational resources. Students will examine the history of such technologies and analyze modern trends. Building from this perspective, students will learn about design processes and implementation strategies for maximizing the accessibility of the technologies they build. During the course, student teams will work with a community partner to design a technology to enhance accessibility (along some dimension) for a user group with a disability. Students will learn and employ user-centered approaches throughout the course. 

Quantitative Engineering Analysis 3– Zachary del Rosario, Chris Lee, Orion Taylor 

• Location: MAC 113, 126 & 128
• Course Type: ENGX2011-01
• Quantitative Engineering Analysis 3 is the third course in the 12-credit QEA sequence required for some degree programs. The course will revisit, reinforce, and build upon the contextualized math, science, and engineering tools and skills developed during QEA 1 and 2. Conceptual material in QEA 3 will draw from topics including ordinary differential equations, Fourier transforms, and equations of motion. QEA 3 will endeavor to place this foundational material in the broader engineering context, drawing connections to relevant examples and applications in engineering and beyond. The course will teach students how to select the appropriate set of tools and techniques for a given situation, ask critical questions about the consequences of their work, and develop the skills needed to acquire new knowledge beyond the course material. This course fulfills the ordinary differential equations requirement, and when coupled with Quantitative Engineering Analysis 2.

The Fiction of Self  - Gillian Epstein

• Location: MAC 326
• Course Type: AHSE1199-01 Arts, Humanities, Social Science Foundation Topic

Principles of Integrated Engineering – Kenechukwu Mbanisi, Amon Millner, & Georgia Van de Zande

• Location: MAC 306 & 309
• Course Type: ENGR2110-03
• Through a significant project experience, students will learn to integrate analysis, qualitative design, quantitative optimization, experiments, and simulations to improve their ability to engineer real systems. In each section of the course, students will work in small multidisciplinary teams to design and to build a mechatronic system of their own choosing. Each project must include both a nontrivial mechanical system design and a nontrivial electronic system design involving both hardware and software components. Projects will be subject to realistic materials, process, and budgetary constraints. 

Design for Manufacturing LAB – Daniela Faas

• Location: MAC 109
• Course Type: ENGR3260 L-B
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM) will build the specialized design skills needed to professionally redesign a prototype in order to meet target price, reliability and functionality goals, whether the final market requires a single unit per year (i.e. space systems, like satellites) or fifty thousand units a week (i.e. consumer products). This course will be heavily team and project based and will involve the re-design for manufacture of several products, devices and services at the discretion of the instructor. The overall course projects will incorporate a significant mechanical, electronic and software components (but perhaps not all three in any one project) and will be drawn widely from the consumer, industrial, and sustainable market sectors. Course will potentially involve field trips to manufacturing facilities and invited DFM lecturers as appropriate to support the particular projects offered in a given semester. 

Location: Oval

Learn from alumni about why they chose the industry/field they are in; what about it excites them; advice they have for anyone wanting to get into this field of work, and so much more.  

In person

Location: Norden Auditorium

Olin College is pleased to welcome renowned author, entrepreneur and acclaimed international speaker, Frans Johansson to campus where he will deliver an inspirational talk on the importance of diversity in driving innovation. Johansson is the author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures.

At Olin, we thrive at the intersection of interdisciplinary collaboration and diverse perspectives, harnessing the unique insights and experiences of our community to fuel innovation and tackle complex challenges. We look forward to welcoming Johansson to this special Alumni and Family Weekend event. 

About the speaker:

 An author, entrepreneur, and advisor to executive leaders, Frans Johansson has inspired audiences worldwide – in virtually every industry and across disciplines, from creatives to engineers, financiers to scientists, and politicians to humanitarians – with his ideas on leadership and success, innovation, and diversity, while his practical insights have empowered thousands to take action. 

Johansson’s debut book, The Medici Effect, was hailed by innovation legend Clay Christensen as “one of the most insightful books on managing innovation that I have ever read,” while his follow up, The Click Moment, was cited by Fast Company as the book that challenges traditional business-school thinking. Since its publication, The Medici Effect has become the definitive book on diversity driving innovation, influencing numerous industries and fields such as architecture, design, economic development, education, scientific research, and investing.

As an innovation thought leader, Johansson has advised executive leadership at Fortune 500 companies such as Walt Disney Company, IBM, Nike, Pfizer and Synchrony Financial. He has been featured on ABC, CNN, CNBC, the PBS Newshour, and National Public Radio. Currently, Johansson is the CEO of Medici Next, which he recently launched to disrupt traditional behavior change management in the workplace. 

Raised in Sweden by his African American/Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Johansson has lived all his life at the intersection. He has written articles on healthcare, information technology, and the science of sport fishing. Throughout his career, Frans has founded a software company, an international healthcare firm, and a hedge fund. Johansson holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

• Visit the Bach to Rock instrument petting zoo free-play activity, an activity for all ages! Try out multiple different instruments and ask the music school staff any musical questions. - Oval

Start the day off by immersing yourself in resonant sounds to calm the mind or take a walk though nature to inspire feelings of joy, calmness, and creativity.

Olin Shop Tours - MAC, 1st floor 

• The Shop is an active learning environment charged with integrating the College’s fabrication resources within the curriculum in a more meaningful manner. The Shop’s mission is to empower all interested community members to use and master the tools of fabrication and prototyping through training and guidance. 

Design Challenge - Library, Upper Level

• More information coming soon.

Parent Leadership Council (PLC) Meet & Greet - Milas Hall Mezzanine

• Drop in and meet members of the PLC, a group of parent volunteers who help support and build the Olin parent community. The PLC helps coordinate and lead various activities from on-campus parent events for parents, to first year parent support, to summer parties, a phone-a-thon, parent social media groups, and more.

Student Affairs + Resources (StAR) Open House - Campus Center 319

• Visit the StAR Suite to meet the team and ask questions. StAR supports and celebrates students and their unique and intersecting identities through intentional and purposefully inclusive support, education, programming, resources, and opportunities. The team works with and for students on their continuous development of social awareness and cultural consciousness in service of preparing them to become exemplary engineering innovators.

Ratober - Library Lower Level

• Relive or join the October tradition of sewing your own rat. This event will be limited by the number of sewing machines available.

Alumni vs Students: Ultimate Frisbee Game - Soccer Field

Location: Norden Auditorium

Staff and faculty will share what’s new and notable at Olin. Get an update on Constituent Engagement, Philanthropy at Olin, Career Planning and Resources; (PGP), Student Life [StAR], Admissions, Academic Life, SCOPE/Industry, and Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship (ADE).

Olin Shop Tours - MAC, 1st floor 

• The Shop is an active learning environment charged with integrating the College’s fabrication resources within the curriculum in a more meaningful manner. The Shop’s mission is to empower all interested community members to use and master the tools of fabrication and prototyping through training and guidance. 

Trivia - MAC 126

• Test your knowledge and see if you can outwit your fellow Oliners. General and Olin trivia included.

PGP Coffee & Conversations - Norden Auditorium Art Gallery

• Grab a cup of coffee at ACRONYM and head to the Art Gallery for conversations with PGP staff.

Build Your Own Hopper - Library, Upper floor

• Form a team and work together to build and test a Hopper, just like your student did in their Design Nature class.
• Mini kits will be provided with instructions.

Ratober - Library Lower Level

• Relive or join the October tradition of sewing your own rat. This event will be limited by the number of sewing machines available.

Come join SERV to build a bike from scratch together with current students, faculty and staff, teachers, parents, and alumni on Saturday, October 19th, from 2:30 to 4:30PM.

The bikes made at this event will be donated to a local charity. Invite your friends and family to join build community and do meaningful service work the Olin way!

We are pleased to offer free babysitting during Cocktails and Dinner on Saturday night from 4:30 -7:30. pm. Hired Olin student sitters will serve pizza for dinner and will put on a G-rated kids' movie in the Crescent Room. There will also be crafts available. If you would like to sign up for babysitting on Saturday night, please email jengle@olin.edu. 

If you are interested in hiring your own babysitters for other times throughout the weekend, please email jengle@olin.edu to be connected with the Olin student babysitters listserv.