Date: 2017-09-13
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: San Diego Central Library, Shiley Suite, 330 Park Boulevard, San Diego

Guest Speaker: QI Research Scientist Jurgen Schulze; Nanome co-founder Steve McCloskey; et al.

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT:

This special community event on "Virtual Reality in the Classroom" is part of the Sally Ride Science STEAM Series, co-sponsored by UC San Diego Extension and the San Diego Public Library. Two of the speakers are affiliated with the Qualcomm Institute.

Why just read about ancient Rome when you can walk the cobbled streets as if you were really there? That's the promise of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality in today's classrooms. While the idea of strapping on goggles to virtually visit the Colosseum or go inside a molecule sounds like the stuff of science fiction, the technology to do just that is becoming more popular and available every day. While there are plenty of obstacles -- from cost to teacher training -- that are impeding the growth of virtual reality as an educational tool, it offers considerable benefits. Not only can it boost visual and technology literacy, but it also improves students' attention and engagement. 

To explore how this technology has the possibility of transforming K-12 education, a panel of educators and technologists will discuss both the promise and peril of using virtual reality in the classroom. The panel will be moderated by Scott Lewis, CEO of Voice of San Diego. Panelists will include: Qualcomm Institute research scientist and CSE associate adjunct professor Jurgen Schulze; UC San Diego NanoEngineering alumnus Steve McCloskey, CEO and Founder of Nanome, a startup located in QI's Innovation Space; Rodney Guzman, Co-founder, Director of Design and CEO of InterKnowlogy; and Julie A. Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. (See bios below)

About the Sally Ride Science STEAM Series

UC San Diego and the City of San Diego share a common purpose of inspiring and offering lifelong knowledge and skill development needs for the greater community. This innovative collaboration aims to connect diverse communities -- educators, civic leaders, industry and the general public- throughout the city, ensuring equity and excellence and helping develop a vital talent pipeline to foster our ongoing regional prosperity.  Four panel presentations will be held throughout the year. An awards gala is planned in 2018 to honor outstanding contributors to STEAM education. 

SPEAKER BIO:

Scott Lewis, CEO, Voice of San Diego (Moderator)
Lewis is the CEO of the pioneering nonprofit investigative news source, voiceofsandiego.org. He is in charge of its website, business, fundraising and marketing functions and must ensure that it continues to grow and innovate appropriately as the news industry changes. Lewis began covering local politics for  voiceofsandiego.org in 2005 and his weekly column was awarded best column in San Diego by both the San Diego Press Club and San Diego Society of Professional Journalists in 2007. He is a graduate of the University of Utah and held reporting jobs at the Salt Lake City Weekly and San Diego Daily Transcript before working with voiceofsandiego.org.

Jürgen Schulze, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, UCSD's Qualcomm Institute, and Associate Adjunct Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Dr. Schulze teaches computer graphics and virtual reality at UC San Diego's computer science and engineering department. His research interests at UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute include applications for virtual and augmented reality systems, 3D human-computer interaction and medical data visualization. Dr. Schulze holds an M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. After his graduation, he spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher in the Computer Science Department at Brown University working on real-time volume rendering in virtual reality.

Steve McCloskey, CEO & Founder, Nanome Inc.
McCloskey is an alumnus from the first class of the UC San Diego NanoEngineering department. His work is at the interface level from both a design approach on the human interface to digital technology and the biochemical interface to nanomaterials. After graduating with a B.S. in nanoengineering he enrolled in graduate courses at UC San Diego in nanoengineering materials simulations and human interface design. He founded Nanome Inc (previously Nano VR) in 2015 to spread nanoengineering concepts through virtual reality and augmented reality.

Rodney Guzman, Co-Founder, CEO, and Director of Design, InterKnowlogy
Guzman started as CTO of InterKnowlogy and his roots are in software engineering. He has over 25 years of experience in creating large-scale software solutions, from development to solution architecture to product design. Guzman has been a Microsoft MVP Solution Architect and served on Microsoft's Architecture Advisory Board. His current focus areas include mobile enterprise, mixed reality, data visualization and Internet of Things solutions.

Julie A. Evans, Ed.D., CEO, Project Tomorrow
Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow, an internationally recognized education nonprofit organization focusing on improving learning opportunities for students through the effective use of STEM resources. She has created several innovative educational initiatives, including Speak Up Research Project, which annually collects and reports on the authentic views of 500,000 K-12 students, parents and educators on education. Dr. Evans serves as the lead strategist and chief researcher on the Speak Up Project as well as leading research efforts on the impact of mobile devices, digital content and blended learning models in both K-12 and higher education. Prior to this position, Dr. Evans enjoyed a successful career in national and regional sales and marketing management with Unisys and two education technology startups. She is a graduate of Brown University and earned her doctorate in educational leadership from UC San Diego.  

MORE INFORMATION:

Networking hour and event registration: $15.00

*Registration is Required