Mar 13-19

Jack Buser, Senior Director of Digital Platforms, Sony PlayStation

"Gaming is for Grown-Ups: A View of the Industry"

I attended Harrison's event this week. I was actually a little excited for this...shh. I'm really into math, science and all these cool electronics that are created out of those fields. I'm not a huge gamer myself, but I do have a few iPhone apps that are games, play the Wii, and the occasional board game.

This lecture talked about different types of games, and how new products are considered games now (like most people wouldn't consider playing an iPhone game as a "gamer" game). There was a little talk about what Sony is doing to take their products and research to the next level. But the most important thing for me was that Jack is an UIUC Alum and could give us advice about how to be involved with the university and what you can do after graduating.

A really great piece of advice he gave was that whatever your interest is you need to relate that to the classes you are taking so they are more beneficial-tweak the material to fit you. It also gives you a chance to connect your interests to what you can do in "the real world".

This event was pretty crowded and I felt a little out of place because I wasn't a male engineer, but I did enjoy it overall. And I think I'll search for more events/lectures in the future that are held by current faculty or alumni. It's really great to see the awesome things graduates from this university can do!

Mar 6 - 12

Tesla Coil Concert – EOH 2013

9:00 PM | Friday, March 8, 2013
VENUE: Bardeen Engineering Quad 


http://the217.com/events/tesla-coil-concert-eoh-2013




This event kicked ass.  I have seen things like this in movies and on the internet before, and in high school my physics teacher taught us a bit about these coils. SO COOL! I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning I was so excited to be there and see it in person for once.  I'm really happy Alex posted this, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it, and wouldn't have gone.  The only downfall was the weather, it was so cold and my hands were numb from snapping pictures and taking videos, but I actually didn't mind too much and I don't think the hundreds of other people there minded either.  Another downfall and regret was not bringing my dSLR. So disappointed in myself.  But I did manage to get a few cool shots with my phone and some videos. There's going to be a video overload on here, but they're super cool to watch and listen to... so do it-and will better explain what this event actually was! Also in some of the videos people would come to the middle of the stage and interact with the performance, this was a little scary to watch but blew my mind even further.  I'm so happy I went to this, and so thankful for this course for letting me know about it.  It's been one of the few events I have attended that I actually really enjoyed.

 

Feb 27- Mar 5

UI UNIVERSITY BAND AND UI CAMPUS BAND
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013, AT 7:30PM | FOELLINGER GREAT HALL

This week I went to the Krannert center to watch the Univeristy and Campus concert bands perform.  I have never been to the Krannert before, so this was a new experience.  I have always wanted to go to events here but felt intimidated, but now that I have broken the ice I want to go to more events here.  Each band performed several songs, directed by multiple graduate assistants from the University.  I found it to be stimulating and inspiring, watching and listening to these musicians.  It kind of made me miss my junior high and high school chorus and band courses actually. I've always been interested in making art from different mediums, and instruments is something I have quit using ever since I was ~14.  I find it rewarding to be able to work in different mediums, and especially rewarding to be able to do something physical with my hands (and air pertaining to instruments :P). Because of this I was really into watching every little thing about these performances.  From the different sounds created, the arm movements of the director, to the tapping of counts several artists did with their feet.  I found it really interesting to watch all of these and everyone's body language.  These observations were things I could "learn" from, from this event.  But it was nice to just get out of the apartment, take a break from homework and projects, and enjoy some great entrainment.

If you haven't had the opportunity to go to an event here, or have never listened to fellow students perform, I really recommend attending an event like this, or similar.  If you don't have someone to go with, get a hold of me, because I would love to go to more whether it's for this class or not! :)