The Choreography of Things – Sydney Skybetter
Lecture Hall
Can’t get enough of our keynote speaker? Come hear him present “The Choreography of Things,” which outlines the opportunities and problematics of emerging technologies. He will talk about robots, AIs, dance video games and boybands.
Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? –Clarena M. Renfrow
White 16
Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more a part of our lives from digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, assisting in the medical field, and robotics to tracking our movements on the Internet. There are many ethical and philosophical questions that need to be answered as a result. People need to be prepared to understand what AI and Machine Learning are, think critically about the future of AI and be ready to make decisions about its’ future, man’s future and how the two should intertwine. This workshop will examine what is happening right now in the field of AI, our Country’s and Vermont’s stances on the subject as well as explore what philosophical and ethical questions we should be asking ourselves to prepare for the future and to make laws regarding AI.
Clarena Renfrow lives in Castleton, Vermont. Technology has been a fascinating subject to her since she first set eyes on a computer and she was always an early adopter of computers and other new technologies. She is passionate about the positive role that technology should play in society and understands the negatives of it as well. Clarena holds an associate’s degree in business from Castleton University, a bachelor’s in education from Sheldon Jackson College and a Master’s in curriculum and instruction from Castleton University. She furthered her studies in technology at the University of Vermont. Clarena teaches technology courses at Rutland High School and also graduate level courses in educational technologies at Castleton University.
Poetic Justice: How Poetry Can Be Used For Social Change
Greta Solsaa
Red 15
Attend to learn about how poetry has impacted social and political movements throughout history and around the world today. If you are in the area on April 26th, come see Greta and headliners from New England perform slam poetry in the name of amnesty at our Slamnesty event.
Eating disorders among athletes: going to extremes concerning food and exercise
Audrey Comas-Atland
Red 11
Come hear Audrey explore how eating disorders impact athletes. She decided to focus her capstone research on athletes with eating disorders because it is a very overlooked but relevant issue in the athletic community.
Audrey has played a variety of sports for nearly her entire life, and currently plays field hockey and runs track. Next year her plan is to major in elementary education.
DIY Artificial Intelligence for Makers with Chatbots – Patricia Aigner
White Wing Computer Lab
Int this workshop we’ll look at several examples of Chatbots online and then look at a do-it-yourself intelligent speaker that Patrcia Aigner built this spring. We will experiment with voice recognition and the Google Assistant.
Patricia Aigner is a maker, tinkerer and Director of Technology for RCPS.
Car T-Cell Therapy: What Is It and What Are Its Future Applications?
Emelia Lovko
Lab 8
This presentation explores an exciting new way to treat cancer using genetically engineered cells. The presenter will distinguish this from stem cell therapy and other established treatments.
Emelia selected this topic because of her interest in medicine, which she hopes to pursue as a career after graduation from RHS.
Selling to Your Psyche – Brayden Moore
White 27
Apple, Facebook, Jif, and Domino’s all have something in common. No, it’s not just that they sell the products we use at 1:00 AM while half-consciously salivating: it’s that they all exploit our psychological biases. By appealing to our cognitive quirks, they have created the religion of Apple, spawned inescapable echo-chambers, manipulated mothers, and sold pizza by paving roads. And far more than just these four companies employ psychological marketing tactics. That means it’s up to us, the consumers, to know who’s pulling the strings of our vulnerable brain and how we can regain cognitive autonomy.
Brayden is a senior and hopes to continue studying psychology and business in college.
Here’s How We Fix It! Solving the World’s Sustainability Problems
Taborri Bruhl
Red 28
The world faces a huge number of environmental problems—climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, and pollution, just to name a few. The good news is that the technology already exists, today, for many of these problems to be solved. Join Taborri as he outlines what future systems and lifestyles might look like and how they might function, and how we will be able to transition from where we are today to where we will need to be tomorrow. His presentation will include discussion of how basic economic principles inform our understanding of future economic systems, as well as video clips of places where some of these technologies and ideas have already been put into practice.
Taborri Bruhl lives in rural New Haven, Vermont, with his wife, three children, and two dogs in a net-zero house powered by solar and wind. Taborri is a former Marine Corps officer, and holds a bachelors degree in history and journalism from Texas A&M University and a masters degree in history from California State University. He teaches history, economics, and government at the high school level, and is on the board of directors for the Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op in Addison County, VT.
False Memories – Jessica Neilson
White 26
“Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened.” – Elizabeth Loftus
Jessica Neilson’s Capstone presentation on “The Science of False Memories” entails the details of memories and how our brain forms them. A false memory is a fabricated or distorted recollection of an event. It could be something that never happened or it could simply be that a person’s memory of an event is different from the way that the said event actually happened. We can’t always trust our memories. To learn more about the details of these memories, how they form, and why they form, sign up for her presentation.
What does your Recycling turn into? – Ray Dube
Red 13/14
This session will highlight the materials that the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England recycles on a day-to-day basis and will explore how local businesses use those recycled commodities by showing examples of products made from them. A discussion of recycled household products will reveal what they can turn into as well.
Ray has spent the last 25 years working for a franchise bottler of Coca-Cola doing everything from loading and driving trucks to working in sales and in the financial department. Most recently he has served as the company’s Sustainability Manager, overseeing commodity sales, recycling and education to schools and to the general public. Ray graduated from NH College in 2000 with a degree in Business, Finance and Economics as well as a certificate in Sustainability for the University of NH in 2014.
The Enduring Effects of Child Abuse on Adolescents –Jack Stahura
Red 26
This presentation will discuss the facts behind child abuse and what the solution to this life changing problem is. Jack chose to do this topic because he has worked with children and he knows just how important these early years of life are.
Note: This presentation will include topics and images that may be unsettling or upsetting to some.
Music in Medicine: A Therapeutic Solution – Caitlin French
White 24
Do you enjoy listening to music? It turns out that this thing we love has the ability to treat multiple diseases and disorders. By watching this presentation you will not only learn about the powerful effects of music therapy, but how and why it works so well for people struggling with drug addiction, dementia, stroke, mental disorders, depression, epilepsy, cancer, and more.
Theatre for Social Change – Cathy Archer
Red 25
Through theatre games this session will explore Education and how it impacts a person’s ability to earn a living, be a part of the community, and develop as a human being. Participants will be guided to develop scenes, using techniques from theatre of the oppressed and Improvisation, which will tell the stories of people in their search for education. Students will leave the workshop with a framework or outline for a play that addresses the issue of the importance of Education.
Cathy Archer is a thirty-four-year veteran teacher of theatre in Vermont. She recently presented this workshop as a part of Vermont’s One Act Festival, The Northeastern Theatre Festival and at the New England Drama One Act Festival. She is committed to the idea that theatre can affect change through productions of plays that address issues concerning the human experience and the World. Rutland High School’s Encore Theatre has recently produced several plays that deal with censorship, discrimination and the power of kindness.
Soup Bowls for Hunger – Stefanie DeSimone
Creative Structure
In this hands-on session, participants will work with a professional ceramics teacher and craft bowls for a social cause. They will be used in next years Soup Bowls for Hunger.
Build Your Own Bristlebot – Detlef Hagge
Lab 5
This is a hands-on session, participants will make a simple small robot from a tooth brush and a vibrating motor. No experience needed!
Poaching and Poverty in South Africa – Alexa McPhee
Lab 3
Three rhinos lose their lives every day to poachers in Africa. Most of these poachers are just trying to feed their families and have turned to poaching as a last resort. Do we have to stop poverty to stop poaching? This is a double session. Students who sign up for this presentation will participate during both the morning and afternoon breakout sessions. This morning session will provide information on Alexa’s experiences and research to prepare participants for the interactive afternoon session.
Alexa McPhee is a senior who will be going to college for international business and biology. She visited South Africa last summer to work alongside locals to protect the black rhino and saw the issues of poverty and poaching for herself. Alexa wishes to return to South Africa in the future and do more to help save the rhinos.
Artificial Intelligence in Crime Analysis – Bradley Goodhale
White 12
Bradley Goodhale will speak about AI in crime analysis, how he thinks it can enhance and augment his skills but also hinder and bias any analysis, with a specific focus on how Rutland City Police have used this technology in recent years and may employ it in the future.
Mr. Goodhale has 31 years in Vermont Law Enforcement in various roles, the last 5 year as a crime and intelligence analyst For Rutland City Police Department. He has an AS in Information Systems Management from Community College of Air Force, a BS in Emergency Management from the National Labor College, a certificate in Applied Critical Thinking from US Army University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies.
Generation: E-Cig – Myles Hogan
Red 23
Myles chose to do his capstone on the dangers of electronic cigarettes among youth. In this session you will learn the multiple components that make up e-liquid, the business side, and how advertisements seduce youth. Along with that information you will be shown the negative effects electronic cigarettes can do to your body. Generation: E-Cig is an insight into the knowledge these vape companies do not want you to know.
Deadly Devices: Should We Trust the FDA? – Lily DuBoff
Lab 6
Trust is something that needs to be nourished and maintained even when it’s between an organization and a group of people. In this Capstone, Lily Duboff will inform you about how the FDA clears medical devices and allow them to be used on/in patients without extensive testing. You will be exposed to the negative aspects of our federal agency and their foibles.
Being interested in the medical field, Lily wanted to learn more about how the devices that doctors use are regulated.
PTSD in Veterans – Maggie Schillinger
White 14
Imagine serving in the military. The risk of death hangs over your head every day, but then you finally come home. For many veterans coming home is harder than carrying that gun hundreds of thousands of miles away. Coming home with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) means not feeling safe in the one place you should feel comfortable. It means being home and yet still feeling hyper-alert to the imminent threat of the war. For these brave men and women the fight doesn’t end when they come home. This presentation explores what it means to be diagnosed with PTSD and how difficult it is to address and treat.
Augmented Reality – Brave Williams
Theatre
We will explore how augmented reality (AR) began with the earliest forms of art, storytelling, and theater but is now being revolutionized by real-time, interactive images in three-dimensional space. This powerful augmentation, which is driven in part by artificial intelligence, has the ability to transform the world around us with applications for business, art, entertainment and lots more. Join us for a hands-on seminar in which we will explore the history, current technology, view AR and even create our own AR scenes.
Brave Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Entertainment Production Program at the New England School of Communications at Husson University. He holds his MFA in set design from The University of Alabama and a BA in theatre from The University of Maine. Brave has designed and constructed sets for the worlds sixth largest Shakespeare Festival, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery Alabama. In the Gracie Theater at Husson University he designed the set for West Side Story, Spoon River Anthology, various NESCom Sessions and other events. Brave has designed for various television productions and currently has scenery used for broadcast for Maine Public Broadcasting Network pledge drives, The Nite Show with Danny Cashman and Greenlight Maine. In addition to traditional scenery he has designed digitally projected scenery for many productions including The Who’s Tommy, Studs Terkel’s Working and an original work titled To the Netherworld and Back. He is currently working to develop the IEX Center at Husson University, which will be open in 2021 and be a home for development of immersive and interactive experiences like virtual and augmented reality. The center’s mission is to focus on a collaborative environment between students, faculty, staff, businesses and outside organizations, in order to share progress with Husson University and the global community.
Predictive Modeling for Infrastructure – Josiah Raiche & Mark Combs
White 21
What VTrans learned from using AI:
VTrans has piloted AI for a couple of projects – to learn how to predict road and bridge conditions. While some of the concepts around AI are complicated, we learned that the biggest problems we had in getting usable models are actually due to bad data. We’ll talk about some of the weird stuff that can happen when you hand a Neural Network bogus data and how to figure out if an ANN is a good choice.
Beyond the Wall: A closer look the Migrant Caravan – Jim Shields
Lab 4
“Like many countries today, the United States is engaged in a vital debate about immigration. There is a great deal of news about the caravans of migrants from Central America coming through Mexico toward the United States, but is there an accurate depiction of these migrants and what has caused them to leave their homes? In this workshop, participants will examine the backstories of this issue as participants and will engage as “witnesses” to members of the migrant caravan, learning about the complex and dangerous journey they are taking and why they take it. Through discussion of their decisions, obstacles, and outcomes, participants will learn about this challenging issue in an interactive way.
Let’s talk transgender – New Neighbors Club Members
White 25
Is gender binary? Do you know what the word “transgender” means? Are you confused about which pronouns you should use when talking to someone who is transgender? This session will focus on introducing students to the concept of gender, and how society has shaped our views of what it means.
Income Inequality and its Effects on Education from Kindergarten to College
Alaena Hunt, Stephie Siki, Gabe Nelson, and Finn Wormser
Red 16
These co-presenters are working together under the guidance of the student collaborative “What’s the Story” to shine a light on the lasting effects of income inequality and represent Stowe High School, Winooski High School, Shelburne Community School, and Champlain Valley Union High School, respectively.