undergraduate research morgan rep rap

I volunteered to take on two incoming freshman as a part of UWM's undergraduate research program this summer. The program is great, as it puts new students (that will start at UWM this Fall) in labs on campus and introduces them to faculty that work at UWM. They get to be involved one on one with other students, get introduced to the campus, and get a bit of a head start on their education at UWM. Faculty take on the relationship on a volunteer basis and don't get paid for their work with the students.I think this program is excellent and I love the concept. My two students were Dan and Jon. They aren't planning on being art majors (civil engineering and computer science respectively) so I think they were a bit confused when I gave them a tour of the art building. By the time we got to the DCRL, I think they started to see the connections and the possibilities. The students working in the DCRL this summer trained them on each of their respective specialties and spent a little time with them in the first two weeks. They learned 3D modeling, viynl cutting, laser cutting, cnc machining, 3D printing, and participated in our group critiques for our larger DCR&D research projects. After they were up to speed, we decided to tackle a larger project. They worked on building a Morgan Rep Rap in two weeks. They did a great job for the limited amount of time that they had and really pulled it together at the end. Jon Broadfoot and I tried to help them out as much as possible for the fabrication and set-up and we had a great time troubleshooting and working together on this. I hope this opportunity to work in the DCRL provides Jon and Dan with a great start to their college careers.