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James McLurkin |
James McLurkin
"Robotics Engineer"
Wed., Nov. 15
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Award-winning M.I.T. roboticist James McLurkin is a daring
innovator who has helped to push the frontiers of microrobotics.
Awarded the prestigious Lemelson-M.I.T. Student Prize, his
inventions include a tiny self-contained autonomous robot that was
the smallest in the world at the time. Named Goliath, it measured a
little over one inch per side. His current research project is to
construct the largest fleet of autonomous robots that have ever
worked together to carry out cooperative, real-world tasks.
Called SwarmBots, McLurkin's tiny robots (they measure 4.5 inches)
are programmed to emulate the behavior of bees with the capability
to cluster, disperse, follow and orbit. Equipped with bump sensors,
a self-charger, a radio modem and an audio system, the robots are
autonomous yet travel in a fleet. When one robot makes a discovery,
it signals the group to execute the task together.
The implications of McLurkin's groundbreaking work are far-reaching
- from clearing fields of land mines to searching for survivors in
the aftermath of a natural disaster to mapping the surface of Mars.
With his initiative, creativity and extraordinary inventiveness,
McLurkin is a natural speaker and educator. At the podium, he
discusses the possibilities of robotic research and the future of
his swarm robots, and, for younger audiences, illustrates the fun in
inventing and engineering.
Inventing since the age of three, McLurkin's inspirations came from
Lego bricks, model trains, video games, BMX bicycles and his
parents—who were key role models. He is now a role model to many as
a teacher in The Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery
Academy at M.I.T. (a college preparatory program).
A Long Island, N.Y. native, McLurkin went to the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology for his undergraduate studies in electrical
engineering. He received his master's degree in electrical
engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He is
currently working on his Ph.D. in computer science, also at M.I.T.
Since 1999, McLurkin has worked as the lead scientist and manager
for the Swarm Robotics Project at iRobot in Burlington, Mass.,
developing algorithms for large communities of autonomous robots.
As an undergraduate at M.I.T., McLurkin built 12 cubic-inch robots
and programmed them to simulate the behavior of an ant colony. His
robotic ants are currently featured as part of Invention at Play, an
interactive traveling exhibit that focuses on the similarities
between the way children play and the creative processes used by
innovators in science and technology.
For more information, see:
http://people.csail.mit.edu/jamesm Return to Lyceum home page |
Lyceum Series
Fall 2006 - Spring 2007 Calendar
Click on speaker's name for more information.
Tues., Sept. 12 — Dr. Ronald Rochon
"The Wake-up Call"
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 21 — William Robinson
"Diabetes - What to Know from Head to Toe"
Diabetes Year Speaker
Johnson C. Smith University Collaboration with the Carolinas
Association for Community Health Equity (CACHE)
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 27 — The Young Eight
"The String Ensemble"
Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 9 — Ten to One
A collection of films by Cara Marisa Deleon
Movie Showing and Lecture
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 15 — James McLurkin
"Robotics Engineer"
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
SPRING 2007
Wed., Jan. 24 — Eleganza
Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
7:30 p.m.
Tues., Jan. 30 — "COTO: Chocolate On The Outside"
Play by April Turner
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 8 — Black History Month Presentation
Calvin Levels
Solo Actor Performance
"James Baldwin: Down from the Mountaintop"
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 27 — Black History Month Presentation
Eytan Uslan, Pianist and David Shadinger, Chorus
Pianist and the Gold Standard Chorus Performance
With Lecture on the Origin of Barbershop Quartets and Ragtime Music
Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Mar. 8 — Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley
"Historian of Black Popular Culture"
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium
7:30 p.m.
Tues., Mar. 27 — Twelfth Annual World of Words Poetry Festival
Reginald Shepherd, Poet
Lionel H. Newsome Humanities Building, Room 108: Writing Workshop
4:00 p.m.
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium: Public Reading
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Mar. 29 — Twelfth Annual World of Words Poetry Festival
Evie Shockley, Poet
Lionel H. Newsom Humanities Building, Room 108: Writing Workshop
4:00 p.m.
Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium: Public Reading
7:30 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 30 — Twelfth Annual World of Words Poetry Festival
Black Ink Monks
Performance Poetry
Grimes Lounge, University Memorial Student Union
7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Apr. 5 — Faculty Showcase
Bruce A. Thompson
Bass-Baritone Vocal Recital
Jane M. Smith Memorial Church
7:30 p.m.
Thurs. and Fri., Apr. 12 & 13 — JCSU Ira B. Aldridge
Drama Guild Performance
The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe
CANCELLED
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