Events Schedule

AY 2022-2023 Events:
Fall Semester 2023:

December 14, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Workshop/Faculty Led Session – Creating a Semester Plan for S24 Semester focusing on areas with the least accountability and biggest impact on long term success: research, writing, and wellbeing led by Professor Erin Solovey, WPI.

December 4, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar: TBD, Professor Kelilah L. Wolkowicz, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

November 27, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Workshop #3 Part 2/FORW-RD Faculty Led Session – Project Proposal Panel Review.

November 15, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar: Promises and Perils of AI in Safety-Critical Systems, Professor Mary (Missy) Cummings, George Mason University.

November 13, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Workshop #3 Part 1/FORW-RD Faculty Led Session – Project Proposal Panel Review led by Professor Carlo Pinciroli, WPI.

November 9, 2023: FORW-RD Trainee Led Session- Generative AI Discussion led by Josiah Boucher, Darren Cole, and Karen Royer.

October 31, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Outreach – Exhibited and demonstrated research at the Quinsigamond Community College Technology & Transfer Fair at Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester.

October 29 – 31, 2023: NSF NRT Annual Meeting hosted by Arizona State University.

October 28, 2023 – FORW-RD NRT Outreach – Robotics Challenge Workshops as part of the Women In STEM Conference for Worcester Public School students and champions at WPI.

October 25, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Workshop on Preventing Bias & Stereotyping from Creeping into Student Teams presented by WPI’s SWEET Center (Supporting WPI in Effective & Equitable Teams).

October 23, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Workshop #2/FORW-RD Faculty Led Session – Project Proposal Review and Discussion of Proposals lead by Professor Yunus Telliel, WPI.

October 13, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Outreach – QCC Robot Challenge Workshop at WPI.

October 12, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Outreach – Lego Robot Building Party in preparation for the Women In STEM Conference Workshops.

October 9, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Workshop – Mentoring 101, Lori Kendall-Taylor, WPI.

October 5, 2023: FORW-RD Trainee Led Session on Summer Internship Experiences led by Galen Brown and Gabrielle Conard.

September 30, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Outreach – Exhibited at the RoboBoston Robot Block Party, Seaport, Boston.

September 25, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Structured Mentoring Session, conference rooms available.

September 20, 2023: FORW-RD Program Discussion with Guest Speaker Stefanie Tellex, Brown University.

September 20, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar: Towards Complex Language in Partially Observed Environments, Stefanie Tellex, Brown University.

September 19, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Outreach – Exhibited at the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up, Polar Park, Worcester.

September 11, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Workshop #1/FORW-RD Faculty Led Session – Pursuing Funding -Grant & Proposal Writing led by Professor Cagdas Onal, WPI.

September 8, 2023: FORW-RD Kick Off for AY 23-24

Spring Semester 2023:

May 11, 2023: WPI Graduate Commencement – FORW-RD NRT Graduates

May 10 & May 11, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Program attends Robotics Summit at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center in Boston.

May 8, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Program Awards and Graduates Celebration, Regatta Point Park, Worcester

April 27, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar Panel: Comparing Careers in Academic, Corporate, and Government Research with Kenechukwu Mbanisi-Professor Olin College of Engineering, Francesca Stramandinoli-Team Lead, Autonomous and Collaborative Systems, Raytheon Technologies Research Center (RTRC), and Kevin Leahy-Technical Staff, MIT Lincoln Labs.

April 18- 21, 2023: FORW-RD NRT Program Trainee Focus Groups by Cohort, Moriarty Research Associates

April 13, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Broader Impacts Workshop #4, When Will I see my research’s impact? Getting Ready for the future of work, Yunus Telliel, WPI

April 11, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Industry-Led Workshop, Unlock your Career Potential with Self Awareness, Drew Fortin, Founder & CEO, Lever Talent, Inc.

April 10, 2023: FORW-RD Trainee-Led Seminar, Art, AI and the future of work, Darren Cole, FORW-RD Fellow and PhD in IMGD.

April 4, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Thinking Seminar, Techno-Vernacular Creativity & Innovation, Nettrice Gaskins, Lesley University

February 24, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Industry Session, Samantha Johnson, CEO/Founder of Tatum Robotics

February 17, 2023: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar, What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World
Sarah Hendren, Design Researcher, Author, Professor at Olin College of Engineering

February 3, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Broader Impacts Workshop #3,

January 17, 2023: FORW-RD Trainee-Led Lab Tour – UXDM Lab Tour and Research Overview
Gaayathri Sankar, FORW-RD NRT Trainee

January 13, 2023: Flash FORW-RD Professional Development Workshop, Impostor Syndrome
led by Brendan Griffiths, WPI

Fall Semester 2022:

December 9, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Research Workshop #3 – Project Proposal Presentations

December 2, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Broader Impacts Workshop #2

November 30, 2022: UXSYMP 2022 – WPI User Experience Symposium
WPI UXDM Lab, The Business School, WPI

November 8, 2022: FORW-RD Trainee-Led Workshop, How to Prepare for a Conference
James Akl, Robin Hall, Tess Meier, and Nick Pacheco, FORW-RD NRT Trainees

November 4, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Broader Impacts Workshop #1

October 28, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Research Workshop #2 – Project/Team Selection

October 17-19, 2022: NSF NRT Annual Meeting
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

October 11, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Industry Session – Amazon Robotics Talk and Tour of Amazon Robotics Innovation Hub in Westborough, MA

October 7, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Convergent Research Workshop #1 – Project Ideation

September 27, 2022: FORW-RD Trainee-Led Session, Summer Internship Experiences
Gabrielle Conard (NASA Langley) and Alicia Howell-Munson (Neurable)

September 21, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar, Robots that Learn to Influence Humans
Dylan Losey, Virginia Tech

September 14, 2022: FORW-RD Trainee Presentations at WPI Robotics Colloquium
featuring Robin Hall and Tess Meier

September 6, 2022: FORW-RD NRT Academic Year 2022-23 Program Kick-Off

August 18, 2022: FORW-RD NRT New Trainee Orientation

2021-2022 Events:

Spring Semester 2022:

April 29, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar, The Future of Work in the Metaverse
Kenny Ching, The Business School, WPI

April 19 – 22, 2022 FORW-RD NRT Program Focus Groups

April 12, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Professional Development Workshop, Bias Training
led by Dr. Jeanine Skorinko, WPI

April 8, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Dr. Holly Yanco, University of Massachusetts Lowell

April 1, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Workshop session #2- Science Communications- Communicating Robotics & AI Daniel Carrillo-Zapata, Managing Editor of Robohub.org and Lucy Smith, Managing Editor of AIhub.org

March 25, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Workshop session #1- Science Communications- Communicating Robotics & AI Daniel Carrillo-Zapata, Managing Editor of Robohub.org and Lucy Smith, Managing Editor of AIhub.org

March 18, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Dr. Helen Huang, NC State University & UNC at Chapel Hill

March 4, 2022: Flash FORW-RD UX Research Workshop #2 – session 2
led by Dr. Soussan Djamasbi, Dr. Pratap Rao, WPI and Dr. Yunus Telliel, WPI

February 25, 2022: FORW-RD Trainee Meeting
Soft Robotics Lab Tour, Robin Hall, NRT Trainee will host.

February 25, 2022: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Dr. Mary Hayhoe, University of Texas at Austin

February 8, 2022: Flash FORW-RD Professional Development Workshop, Bias Awareness & Intervention
with Stephanie A. Goodwin, Ph.D. President, Incluxion Works, Inc. and PowerPlay Interactive Development

February 1, 2022: FORW-RD Trainee/Faculty Research Discussion

January 28, 2022: Flash FORW-RD UX Research – Workshop #2 session 1
led by Dr. Soussan Djamasbi, Dr. Pratap Rao, WPI and Dr. Yunus Telliel, WPI

Fall Semester 2021:

December 16, 2021: Flash FORW-RD UX Workshop #1
led by Dr. Pratap Rao, WPI and Dr. Yunus Telliel, WPI

December 16, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar (followed by Flash FORW-RD Workshop above)
Dr. Soussan Djamasbi, WPI – User Experience Research Methodologies

December 10, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Enhancing Human Capability with Intelligent Machine Teammates, Dr. Julia Shah, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

December 3, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Inclusion in Human- Machine Interactions:  Perspectives for the Future of Work, Dr. Tahira Reid Smith, Research in Engineering and Interdisciplinary Design (REID Lab), Purdue University

November 19, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
LEARNER Lessons on Convergence Research: A PI’s practical views on Team Science, Dr. Ranjana Mehta, Texas A&M University

November 18, 2021: Information Session at Smith College
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Zhi Li, and a FORW-RD NRT Trainee

November 12, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Convergence Research, Dr. Pradeep Fulay, Program Director NSF Convergence Research Accelerator

November 9, 2021: Information Session at Mt. Holyoke College
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Pratap Rao, and FORW-RD NRT Trainee Raagini Rameshwar

November 5, 2021: FORW-RD Trainee Meeting
Practice Point Lab Tour, 50 Prescott St – 3rd floor

October 29, 2021: Information Session at Claflin College
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Berk Calli, and FORW-RD NRT Trainee James Akl.

October 1, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Smart and Autonomous Robots for Surgery, Dr. Alex Krieger, Johns Hopkins University

September 24, 2021: FORW-RD Trainee Meeting
Rao Lab “Tour”, Nicholas Pratt, NRT Trainee will host.

2020-2021 Events:

May 19, 2021: FORW-RD Trainee Meeting
MER Lab “Tour”, Galen Brown

May 12, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Disentangled Generative Modeling for What-If Analysis, Dr. Ping Chen, University of Massachusetts Boston

May 3, 2021: WPI Multidisciplinary Conference
WPI Conversations on the Future of Work

April 28, 2021: FORW-RD Trainee Meeting
Soft Robotics Lab “Tour”, Raagini Rameshwar 

March 31, 2021: Flash FORW-RD Workshop
User-Centered-Design: Developing Personas, Dr. Soussan Djamasbi

March 24, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Beyond the Label: Robots that Reason about Object Semantics, Dr. Sonia Chernova, Georgia Institute of Technology

March 5, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Soft, Shape, Sense: Addressing Challenges in Soft Sensor Applications, Dr. Kristen Dorsey, Smith College

February 25, 2021: Information Session at Mt. Holyoke College
Future of Robots in the Workplace -Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Berk Calli, Dr. Carlo Pinciroli

February 19, 2021: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Anticipatory Control of Human-Robot Interaction: Towards Enabling Flexible and Agile Work Practices, Dr. Arash Ajoudani, Italian Institute of Technology

February 17, 2021: Flash FORW-RD Workshop
Beyond The Lab: Research Impacts in Society, Dr. Kathy Chen, WPI STEM Education Center Executive Director

February 10, 2021: Information Session for Prospective Ph.D. Students
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal

November 24, 2020: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Future of Work by Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, Michael H. Jordan Professor of Management, Yale University

November 19, 2020: Information Session at Smith College
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Berk Calli

October 16, 2020: Information Session at Claflin College
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program by Dr. Cagdas Onal, Dr. Loris Fichera

October 2, 2020: FORW-RD Thinking Seminar
Ms. An (Meeting Students’ Academic Needs): A Socially Adaptive Robot Tutor for Student Engagement in Math Education, Dr. Karina Liles, Claflin University

October 1, 2020: FORW-RD Kick-Off
Future of Robots in the Workplace – Research & Development (FORW-RD) NRT Program, Program and Research Overview by PIs and Students
Keynote: Integrating Robots into the Future of Work, Dr. Chien-Ming Huang, Johns Hopkins University