Worcester Mayor Joseph C. O'Brien speaks to the first-year students who researched ways to prevent childhood obesity.

More than 160 first year students participating in this year’s Great Problems Seminars showcased their research Monday, Dec. 13, during the program’s poster presentations event in the Campus Center Odeum. Worcester Mayor Joseph C. O’Brien was on hand to view the projects and offer remarks, and even invited members of one team (“Preventing Childhood Obesity” — Francis Ascioti, Andrea DiGioia, Jeffrey Havill, Kathleen Hodge, and Emily Machlin) to present their research before the Worcester School Committee at one of its upcoming meetings.

“WPI students have been at the forefront of many great projects that have benefited the city of Worcester,” said Mayor O’Brien. “They have helped transform parts of the city with their focus on solving real-world problems with cutting-edge research. We desperately need new ideas, and students at WPI help make up a new generation of innovators and thinkers.”

The Great Problems Seminars prepare WPI’s first year students for the university’s project-enhanced curriculum and serve as an introduction to university-level research. They take problem solving out of the textbook and into the real world by focusing students on themes of global importance, including societal problems and human needs. This year’s seminars were “Heal the World,” “Grand Challenges,” and “Power the World.” Some of the projects tackled ways to reduce smoking at WPI; combat the rise of Type 2 Diabetes in Africa; redesign the Worcester Regional Transit Authority and WOO bus system; build a “greener” greenhouse; design sustainable renovations for WPI’s Morgan Hall; and use algae as jet fuel. The projects’ advisors were professors Diran Apelian, Chrys Demetry, Tahar El-Korchi, Fred Looft, Svetlana Nikitina, Kent Rissmiller, Jill Rulfs, Brian Savilonis, and Helen Vassallo.

“At WPI, we believe that asking students to address real-world problems is one key to a vital, engaging educational experience,” said Professor Kristin Wobbe, associate dean for the first year. “These students have done this and have produced creative and compelling projects that address these very real problems.”

The seminars were launched four years ago and are supported by a generous gift from Eric Hahn ’80 and the Hahn Family Trust.

• View more photos of the 4th annual Great Problems Seminars Poster Presentations event.