Be well at home while celebrating Wellness Day on November 4th. Drop by the Center for Well-Being or the lobby of Gateway 1 (60 Prescott) starting on Friday, October 31st to pick up your Wellness @ Home Kit to help de-stress and relax. Kits will be available October 31-November 4 or until we run out. Get one before they are gone! Sponsored by the CWB.

Join us for the Opening Event to kick off WPI Business School's Business Week 2025!President Grace Wang, along with Dean Kwamie Dunbar, will welcome the WPI community to the start of WPI’s third Business Week. President Wang will expand on her article, “Business Education in a Polytechnic Era” and Dean Dunbar will share his vision of how The Business School is preparing students to thrive in a rapidly changing world.Don’t miss this inspiring conversation as we set the stage for a week of exploration, networking, and business in action.We look forward to seeing you in the Odeum

Seminar Series “Levering Foot-Ground Interaction Dynamics for Sports Performance and Gait Rehabilitation” Wouter Hoogkamer, PhD Associate Professor Department of Kinesiology University of Massachusetts Amherst Abstract: Over the past 10 years innovations in running footwear have led to substantial improvements in running performance. While many credit (or blame) carbon-fiber plates for these improvements, a series of studies from our group suggests that innovations in midsole foams are the real hero (or culprit). Seeing what more compliant and resilient midsole foams are doing for running performance, we developed an adjustable surface stiffness treadmill to unilaterally expose people to a compliant surface while walking. Our recent results indicate that asymmetric surface stiffness walking leads to neuromotor adaptation in healthy control participants, which suggests this method can be leveraged to reduce weight-bearing asymmetries in neurological conditions such as people post-stroke. Bio: Wouter Hoogkamer, PhD (he/him) (pronounced “Wow-ter”) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he runs the Integrative Locomotion Laboratory (UMILL). His lab uses a comprehensive approach to study human locomotion, integrating neurophysiology, biomechanics and energetics. His work on running shoes, cooperative drafting and course features might have played a tiny role in how the 2-hour marathon barrier was broken. His lab is currently studying biomechanics and energetics of marathon shoes and track spikes, and locomotor adaptation imposed by robotic footwear, mechatronic treadmills and exoskeletons, to improve gait rehabilitation paradigms. For a zoom link please contact Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu

Join WPI Archives & Special Collections in celebration of the new 2025-2026 Gladwin Gallery exhibit, "Currents of Change: Electrical & Computer Engineering at WPI from the Dawn of the Electric Age to Present Day". This event is a casual drop-in/drop-out style gathering with a brief welcome and short program led by ECE faculty at the start. After this introduction, attendees will be welcome to explore the exhibit and some interactive elements on their own. Light refreshments provided. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and guests are welcome. Registration preferred. Please email archives@wpi.edu with any additional questions.

Stop by the Bookstore to compete in our Paper Airplane Contest! All participants will receive a coupon for 10% off at the Bookstore and the winners will receive an additional prize. Sponsored by the WPI Bookstore.

Sign up for a 15-minute Reiki session with certified Reiki master, Catherine Flayhan, as you experience healing in your whole-body by the gentle placement of the practitioner’s hands above or lightly on the receiver's body. Reiki is a healing practice that helps to bring your energetic body into alignment. Humans have two body forms. One is our physical body supported by our spine, bones, organs. We also have an energetic body with a central column that runs along our spine called a Sushumna. This is where the seven main Chakras live as well as the Nadis, which are channels that bring energy out to the rest of our body. Both can become out of alignment. When your energetic body is unaligned you visit a Reiki Practitioner.  Sponsored by the CWB.

Stop by the CWB during Wellness Day and play some games, do a puzzle, or get some coloring done all while enjoying some free snacks. Sponsored by the CWB.

Come stop by to plant some seeds to watch grow throughout the year! You can also choose to decorate your pot to make it perfect for your space! Sponsored by HREC.

Drop-in at the CWB to make scratch art rockets! All materials provided. Sponsored by the CWB. 

5v5 Basketball Tournament for the WPI Community. Sponsored by Campus Recreation Advisory Council.

Stop by the Business School in Washburn Shops on the 2nd floor and pick up a Bundtini (it's basically a cupcake but it's a frosted mini-bundt cake)! Stop by and pick up one of these sweet treats before they're gone! Sponsored by the Business School.

Brewing coffee and tea are classic examples of extraction processes and making hot chocolate involves complex mixing processes. Come enjoy these beverages and some snacks in the lower lobby of Goddard Hall with the Chem Eng Department. Sponsored by Chem Eng.

This class focuses on joint mobility to improve daily function, using stretching techniques to enhance muscle flexibility and injury prevention. From beginners to athletes, it supports muscle health and increases range of motion. Mats are provided. Sponsored by Fitness Club.

Pickleball Tournament for the WPI Community. Sponsored by Pickleball Club and Campus Recreation Advisory Council.

Relax and comfort your mind, body, and soul with a chair massage. Schedule your free 15-minute session today with a massage therapist or drop-in to check for cancellations. Check-in will be on the 5th floor of Unity Hall. Undergraduate and Graduate Students ONLY. Sponsored by Talent & Inclusion.

Take a Midweek Break at Wellness Day Bundtinis!Join us on Tuesday, November 4, from 11 AM–1 PM in Washburn AM for a special midweek pause. Enjoy delicious bundtinis while connecting with peers, faculty, and staff in a relaxed and welcoming setting.This is the perfect chance to recharge, build community, and celebrate wellness during Business Week 2025. Don’t miss out on the sweetest event of the week!We look forward to seeing you there!

Sign up for this fun workshop by WPI’s own Sharon Robsky and learn to craft your own yarn alien! All materials will be provided. Sponsored by the CWB. 

Stop by and get creative with the AGC! We’ll be using scrap pieces of concrete for rock painting. Sponsored by Associated General Contractors.

The CWB will be giving out bagel pizzas (cheese, veggie, and pepperoni) at 12PM on Wellness Day. Stop by Morgan Wedge to get your free bagel pizza before they run out! Sponsored by the CWB. 

Bring a book, take a book! Stop by the library on Wellness Day and participate in our quarterly book swap. All genres are welcome - the only rule is that it must be something you can read for fun! This is a drop-in event and registration is not required. Simply drop in, share your books, and walk away with something exciting to read. Sponsored by the Gordon Library.

Members of the Inspiring and Developing Educators Association (IDEA) will teach WPI community members how to create fun keychains from recycled toys and trinkets in this hands-on workshop. Toys and trinkets will be provided, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own. Sponsored by IDEA.

Join The Adventurers' Guild as we run introductory Dungeons and Dragons one session campaigns(also known as one shots), as well as other one session roleplaying games similar to D&D such as Pathfinder. Characters will be provided, or you may make your characters ahead of time or at the table. Campaigns will start every hour until 3pm. You may borrow dice from the guild for the event. If you want to try DMing, please join The Adventurers' Guild discord (https://discord.gg/ak3uDwfRxb) to reach out to execs about possible campaigns you can try to run. You may also show up and pick up any campaign that is available. Sponsored by The Adventurers' Guild.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to sign up for vaccine appointments. Sponsored by SHS.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to sign up for vaccine appointments. Please click here to schedule a time slot.

Interested in trying meditation for the first time? Or perhaps you are an experienced meditator and want to build and strengthen your mindfulness practice in a supportive community?  Please join the CWB in this 30-minute, guided meditation session led by Robin Benoit from the Gordon Library. Sponsored by the CWB and Gordon Library. Zoom Link: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/186050714

Relax and comfort your mind, body, and soul with a chair massage. Schedule your free 15-minute session today with a massage therapist or drop-in to check for cancellations. Open to WPI students AND employees at Gateway. Sponsored by the CWB.

Community plant potting event. Come to the greenhouse on the third floor of Salisbury Labs. You will receive a pot which can be decorated and pick out a baby plant to pot in it. Sponsored by Biology & Biotechnology.

This seminar, lead by WPI’s Annika Hayden (a second-degree black belt in kenpo karate), was developed alongside police in order to understand the most likely ways a person is to be attacked, as well as to understand how to defend oneself within the boundaries of the law. Sponsored by Rec Center.

Join us in this soothing session using healing instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, chimes, and more where participants are bathed in “sound waves” that bring healing to the body. Participants may experience relaxation, an increased sense of well-being, balanced energy, and deep awareness. Sponsored by the CWB. 

Engage with creative materials to visualize your own system of support, including a review of campus resources and SDCC Q&A. Sponsored by SDCC.

Volleyball Tournament for the WPI Community. Sponsored by Campus Recreation Advisory Council.

Join us between 2-4 PM in Fuller 311 for stickers, jigsaw puzzles, and quiet coloring, as well as the opportunity to meet and relax with our CS community. All are welcome! Sponsored by Computer Science.

Make your own ring on the Washburn machine shops CNC machines! Walk-ins accepted as space allows – sign-up in advance to guarantee a spot. Sponsored by Washburn Manufacturing Shops.

Join the Outing Club & Spikeball Club for S'mores & Spikeball behind the CC! Sponsored by Outing Club and Spikeball Club.

Join the Campus Dietitian, Shavaun, and make your own sweet & savory snack mix! Sponsored by Tech Eats.

Join us for Vinyasa yoga! In Vinyasa yoga, movements flow between yoga poses as you link your breath to the movement of the body. Boost your mood, improve your sleep, and feel your stress roll away when you participate. Sponsored by the CWB.

Come join us in cleaning up our neighboring streets to better our planet! Need work study community service hours? This event counts as an hour of community service! Sponsored by HREC.

Stop in for a few snuggles or sloppy doggie kisses to help melt away anxiety and stress. Our furry friends from AATS will be awaiting your presence!  Please note: The elevator in the library is out of service. There will be an accessible dog therapy location on the main floor of the library for those who cannot get up the stairs to the third floor. Sponsored by the CWB and Gordon Library. 

In this activity, we will be taking various basic games such as Go Fish and Crazy 8s and altering the rules together so the game's players work together towards a singular goal rather than each player trying to win. Come to play fun games or learn more about the game design process. All materials are provided by the club, but attendees are welcome to bring their own games. Sponsored by International Game Developers Association.

Join the CWB to travel out of this world! Enjoy free popcorn and hot chocolate while we watch Interstellar. Sponsored by the CWB.

Come sing karaoke with WooJA! Anyone is welcome, and any music (as long as it's appropriate) is welcome. Sing your heart out and destress :3. Sponsored by Japan Association.

Test your space knowledge at Trivia Night! Join us for a fun-filled evening of space trivia, open to all knowledge levels! Just show up, and we'll assign you to a team—no prior preparation needed. Compete for a chance to win 1st and 2nd place prizes and enjoy the friendly competition! Sponsored by the CWB and Goat's Head Programs.

REGISTER BY NOVEMBER 3WHO'S COMING The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Student Steel Bridge Competition competes annually, challenging universities to design, fabricate and build a scale model of a steel bridge. What's the 2026 challenge? Communities north of El Paso need a new, aesthetically pleasing pedestrian bridge over the Rio Grande, and they’re counting on student teams to make it happen. WPI Voyagers invites the WPI community, age 55+, to the undergraduate student and faculty-led Steel Bridge Team presentation highlighting their endeavors, priorities and needs, including their academic learning, skills, design and construction process for an annual scale model steel bridge competition. The team will also discuss how you can support their efforts, and you will learn about WPI's Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Department priorities.Meet the PresentersDr. Leonard Albano is faculty advisor for the Steel Bridge Team, and Associate Professor for Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering for WPI. Dr. Albano enjoys teaching engineering fundamentals as well as upper level and graduate courses presenting advance topics and fostering deeper learning. He works to align his approach to MQPs with classroom philosophy, guiding students to build from their background learning experiences and to integrate new knowledge and skills.Student Teammates:Freddie Smith IV ’26, Civil EngineeringSteven Tran ’26, Civil EngineeringMena Youssif ’26, Civil EngineeringAidan Flanagan ’26, Civil Engineering Matt Santos ’27, Civil Engineering Kyler Ma '27, Civil EngineeringDavid Nichols ’28, Civil EngineeringFollow the team on Instagram (@wpisteelbridge)!DetailsWednesday, November 5, 2025The Alumni Center at Higgins House10:00 AM Check-In and Guest Social10:30 AM Welcome Remarks, WPI Voyagers10:45 AM Steel Bridge Team Presentation/Q&A11:30 AM Closing Remarks and Guest Social12:00 PM Program ConcludesRegister by November 3 to receive your parking pass. WPI Voyagers has been a campus staple since 1958 and welcomes all members of the WPI community, age 55+. Learn more about this social organization, and upcoming programs here.

Chemistry & Biochemistry Seminar SeriesDr. James Reuther, Associate Professor, UMASS LowellAdvanced Materials Research in the Reuther Group: From Chiral Nanomaterials to Polyurethane Vitrimers Research in the Reuther group lies on the interface of polymer chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, materials science and nanoscience with projects ranging from basic science to applied materials research. This seminar will touch on two, unrelated projects that currently dominate the research in the lab: 1) synthesis and application of polyurethane vitrimers for footwear and 2) synthesis of chiral nanomaterials with unique light-matter interactions. Polyurethane (PU) thermosets are essential in numerous commercial applications but present significant environmental challenges due to their limited recyclability and biodegradability. In the first project, we detail the use of drop-in diols that can be integrated into commercial PU formulations without any changes to industrial processing protocols to impart catalyst-free melt-processability and chemically-triggered thermoset deconstruction for mechanical and chemical recycling of PU, respectively. A series of three dynamic conjugate acceptor (DCA) diols were synthesized and introduced into PU resin formulations providing tunable properties based on dynamic exchange kinetics and thermodynamics. Controlling chirality at the nanoscale can provide access to unique, emerging properties such as chiral plasmonics, photonics, spin-photon and spin-orbit coupling, negative indices of refraction, and circularly-polarized luminescence (CPL).The second project we will discuss the recent combinations of PI-CDSA with chiral, helical rod-coil poly(aryl isocyanide) triblock copolymers to afford polymer nanoparticles with engineered sizes, dimensionality (transitioning from 1D to 2D to 3D nanostructures), nanostructured chirality, and intense optical activity. Recent work in our group has focused on incorporation of functional isocyanide monomers containing modular pentafluorophenylester (PFP) and pyridyl side-chains enabling the direct size tuning of 2D hexagonal platelets via self-limiting CDSA controlled by functional monomer incorporation. Reduction of gold(I) salts bound to chiral soft-templates via pyridyl side chains allows for uniform gold nanoseed formation. The high concentration and local confinement of gold seeds on chiral nanosheets provides a platform for enhanced symmetry breaking during laser-assisted gold overgrowth yielding chiral plasmonic nanocomposites.

The Materials Science Behind Sustainable Steel ProductionAbstractIron- and steelmaking stand for about 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, which qualifies this sector as the biggest single cause of global warming [1,2]. This originates from the use of fossil carbon carriers as precursors for the reduction of iron oxides. Carbon is turned in blast furnaces into CO and – through the redox processes reducing iron oxide – into CO2, producing about 2 tons CO2 for each ton of steel produced.Mitigation strategies pursue the replacement of fossil carbon carriers by sustainably produced hydrogen and / or electrons as alternative reductants, to massively cut these CO2 emissions, thereby lying the foundations for transforming a 3000 years old industry within a few years [1,2].As the sustainable production of hydrogen using renewable energy is a bottleneck in green steel making, at least during the next decade (transforming this industry would need about 300 Million tons of green hydrogen each year, i.e. about 5 orders of magnitude more than produced around the globe today), the gigantic annual steel production of 1.85 billion tons requires strategies to use hydrogen and / or electrons very efficiently and to yield high metallization at fast reduction kinetic.This presentation presents progress in understanding the governing mechanisms of hydrogen-based direct reduction and plasma reduction of iron oxides and also shows how these methods work for other transition metal reduction processes [2-5]. The metallization degree, reduction kinetics and their dependence on the underlying redox reactions in hydrogen-containing direct and plasma reduction strongly depend on mass transport kinetics, Kirkendall effects, nucleation phenomena during the multiple phase transformations, chemical and stress partitioning, the oxide's chemistry and microstructure, the acquired (from sintering) and evolving (from oxygen loss) porosity, crystal plasticity, damage and fracture effects associated with the phase transformation phenomena occurring during reduction [5-8]. Understanding these effects, together with external boundary conditions such as other reductant gas mixtures (including also ammonia [8]), oxide feedstock composition [9], pressure and temperature, is key to produce hydrogen-based green steel and design corresponding direct reduction shaft or fluidized bed reactors (with and without plasma support), enabling the required massive C02 reductions at affordable costs. Possible simulation approaches that are capable of capturing some of these phenomena and their interplay are also discussed [3-8].BiographyDr. Dierk RaabeProf. Dr. habil. Dr. h.c.Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for Sustainable MaterialsMax-Planck-Str. 1, 40237 Duesseldorf, GermanyEmail: d.raabe@mpi-susmat.dehttps://www.mpi-susmat.dehttps://www.mpie.de/2763408/microstructure_physics_and_alloy_designDierk Raabe studied music, metallurgy and metal physics (summa cum laude) at RWTH Aachen (Germany). After his doctorate 1992 (summa cum laude) and habilitation 1997 at RWTH Aachen he received a Heisenberg fellowship and worked at Carnegie Mellon University and at the High Magnetic Field Lab in Tallahassee. He joined Max Planck Society as a director in Düsseldorf at the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research (now: Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials) in 1999. His main research interest is Sustainable Metallurgy, i.e. to make industrial production, use and recycling of materials more sustainable, focusing on basic research with high leverage for CO2 emission mitigation and lower energy consumption. His specific interests are in sustainable metals (specifically ���green’ steel, Nickel, Aluminium, Titanium etc.), recycling-oriented material design, metal physics, interfaces, phase transformation, atom probe tomography, materials theory, hydrogen, and artificial intelligence methods in materials science. He received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award (Highest German Science Awards) and two ERC Advanced Grants (Highest European Research Grant). He is professor at RWTH Aachen (Germany) and at KU Leuven (Belgium). He is a Doctor Honoris Causa at the Norwegian Technical University Trondheim. He is a member and Senator of the German National Science Academy Leopoldina and of the US National Academy of Engineering. ZOOM MEETING LINK: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/93538117042

Looking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Wednesdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom.

Title:Mapping Biology with AI to Revolutionize Drug Discovery Abstract:The persistent challenge of "Eroom's Law", the decades-long decline in drug discovery R&D efficiency, necessitates new paradigms for biological research. This talk presents a high-throughput, data-driven approach centered on generating and modeling petabyte-scale morphological datasets. Using an automated platform, millions of experiments are performed weekly, applying diverse perturbations (e.g., small molecules, whole-genome CRISPR knockouts) to human cells, with phenotypic responses captured via high-content microscopy using the Cell Painting protocol. A key focus of this talk is the development and scaling of representation learning models to interpret this massive image data. We will detail the technical progression from weakly-supervised learning (WSL) to large-scale, self-supervised foundation models, specifically Masked Auto-encoders (MAEs). We will demonstrate that increasing model size and data volume yields more powerful representations that effectively recapitulate known biological relationships, creating robust "maps of biology." The practical utility of these models will be explored through case studies, including the identification of novel biological insights and the ability to uncover subtle, large-scale data artifacts, such as "proximity bias" in CRISPR-based functional genomics screens. Finally, we will discuss future directions focused on building a more holistic, multi-modal understanding of cellular states by integrating orthogonal datasets with these rich morphological profiles. Speaker:Safiye CelikDirector of Data Science, Recursion Bio:Safiye Celik is the Director of Data Science at Recursion, with 18 years of experience in computing and AI, including 12 years leading high-impact initiatives in industry and government research. She holds a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington, where her research applied machine learning to characterize complex biological systems, uncovering novel insights in cancer and Alzheimer's disease. At Recursion, she leads a team that develops, deploys, and optimizes machine learning models to transform experimental data into comprehensive maps of biology, advancing the vision of industrializing drug discovery. Host: Professor Ulkuhan Guler

These trainings are divided into a 101- and 201-level and will be offered on a termly basis in Stratton Hall 311. Both trainings will include creating an action plan and discovering new resources for continued learning. Please contact Lauren Feldman (they/she) at diversity@wpi.edu with any questions or accommodations requests. All are welcome to attend! 101: Learn about identities, pronouns, and how to advocate for your students and colleagues. A-Term: Wednesday, September 10, 2:00-3:30pm ET Zoom: Tuesday, October 14, 1:30-3:00pm ET B-Term: Tuesday, October 28, 11:00am-12:30pm ET 201: Learn about LGBTQIAP+ history, queer identity in other cultures, and queer liberation. Participants are encouraged to either attend the 101 training or have solid foundational knowledge before attending the 201 training. A-Term: Wednesday, September 17, 2:00-3:30pm ET B-Term: Wednesday, November 5, 1:30-3:00pm ET

On Wednesday, November 5, from 3:30–4:30 PM in the i3 Lab, join us for a panel discussion featuring rotational and leadership development program coordinators who manage top programs across many industries. Learn how these programs accelerate professional growth, build leadership skills, and open doors to diverse career pathways in today’s competitive business world.

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Go Behind the Scenes at Polar Beverages!On Thursday, November 6, join us for an exclusive site visit to Polar Beverages, Worcester’s iconic company with a rich history of branding, innovation, and community impact.The bus departs at 10 AM and returns by 12 PM, giving participants a unique opportunity to see firsthand how Polar has built its reputation as a leader in the beverage industry. Learn about the company’s operations, explore its production process, and gain insights into how tradition and innovation come together to shape a lasting brand.This site visit is a highlight of Business Week, don’t miss the chance to experience a Worcester business legacy up close!Registration for this event is limited and preference will be given to students attending as part of a course assignment or experience. Click this link to register today!

Semidefinite Relaxations for Robot Perception and Control: From Theory to Practice and Back Abstract:Many problems in robot perception, control, and planning can be formulated as nonconvex polynomial optimization problems (POPs). The Moment–SOS (sums-of-squares) hierarchy provides a principled approach by relaxing a nonconvex POP into a sequence of convex semidefinite programs (SDPs) whose optimal values converge to that of the original problem. Despite its theoretical elegance, the framework is often viewed as impractical due to the need to solve large-scale and ill-conditioned SDPs.In the first part of this talk, I will show how problem-specific structure in robotics can be exploited to make Moment–SOS relaxations practical at scale. On the perception side, I will present XM, our structure-from-motion pipeline that leverages monocular depth prediction to cast bundle adjustment as a polynomial optimization problem. Using GPU-accelerated low-rank Riemannian optimization, XM solves bundle adjustment instances with thousands to tens of thousands of images. On the control side, I will introduce SPOT, a trajectory planning pipeline that exploits sparsity inherent in robot motion planning problems, such as Markov and kinematic chain structure. With a GPU-accelerated ADMM solver, SPOT is able to generate near–globally optimal trajectories within seconds, including contact-rich motions.In the second part, I will turn to theory, briefly highlighting our recent work on understanding and accelerating the convergence of first-order methods for SDPs. This includes proving local linear convergence of ADMM, designing a composite polynomial filter for approximate projection onto the positive semidefinite cone, and analyzing the slow-convergence regions of ADMM.Bio:Heng Yang is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2022 and his B.S. from Tsinghua University in 2015. He leads the Harvard Computational Robotics Group, which is broadly interested in the intersection of theory and practice, with a focus on computational algorithms that are robust, efficient, and equipped with strong performance guarantees. His work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Best Systems Paper Award at RSS 2025, a 2025 Best Paper Award Finalist from the IEEE Technical Committee on Model-based Optimization for Robotics, a Best Paper Award Finalist at RSS 2021, the Best Paper Award in Robot Vision at ICRA 2020, a Best Paper Award Honorable Mention from IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters in 2020, and recognition as an RSS 2021 Pioneer.

Looking for a way to make your day less stressful and more mindful...take some much-needed time for yourself and join us for Mindful Thursdays! Drop-in meditation sessions are open to the entire WPI community, and no experience is necessary. A certified meditation teacher will offer guided meditations appropriate for both beginners as well as experienced meditators. People can join in person or via zoom. Mindful Thursdays: 2:15PM to 2:35PM Center for Well-Being, Daniels Hall 102E Zoom: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/186050714 Each Friday an email will be sent out to the group called Mindfulness Tools To-Go which will include information about meditations, poems shared during the week, and mindful resources. If you have questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact Robin Benoit, rbenoit@wpi.edu

The first event in the Gordon Library's 25-26 WPI Author Series, "For a Change," features Professor Mahamadou Lamine Sagna, faculty in the WPI Social Science and Policy Studies (SSPS) department, and Inaugural Director of Africana Studies.Prof. Sagna will discuss his book Cornel West Matters: Politics, Violence, Racism, and Religion in America (2024, WPI Press) with WPI Press Editor in Chief and Head, SSPS, Prof. Rob Krueger. Updated to reflect Cornel West’s independent candidacy in the 2024 US presidential campaign, this second edition explores West’s role as a philosopher, activist, and prominent intellectual with a singular dialectical and sometimes contradictory voice, echoing the title of West’s most influential books, Race Matters (1993) and Democracy Matters (2004). A zoom link will also be made available here. Please check back!Please note that the Gordon Library’s elevator remains out of service; visitors who wish to avoid using the stairs are welcome to join via zoom.

Global Asia Hub and HUA Music are hosting Prof. Ian Condry, MIT Cultural Anthropologist and MIT Spatial Sound Lab organizer. He explores global flows of media and culture, focusing on Japanese Hip-Hop, anime, and spatial audio for live performance.

Alumni & Student SocialJoin us on Thursday, November 6, from 5–7 PM in Odeum A/B for the Alumni & Student Social. This event brings together WPI alumni, students, and faculty for an evening of networking, conversation, and community building.Celebrate Business Week by strengthening connections, sharing experiences, and creating opportunities for future collaborations. Whether you’re a student eager to learn from alumni or an alum looking to give back and reconnect, this social is the perfect way to conclude the week.Don’t miss this chance to engage with the WPI Business School community!You can register by clicking this link.

Title:Algorithm–Hardware Co-Design for LiDAR Point Cloud Processing: Classic and Learning-Based Approaches Abstract:LiDAR perception is a cornerstone of modern autonomous systems, enabling reliable 3D scene understanding for self-driving, robotics, and intelligent infrastructure. As sensors shift from mechanical to solid-state designs and produce denser, higher-rate point clouds, computational demands escalate. Meeting real-time, low-power, and small-form-factor requirements on edge platforms remains challenging for conventional CPU/GPU pipelines.This dissertation presents a hardware-friendly LiDAR perception framework through algorithm–hardware co-design on FPGAs and introduces three key designs: (1) a stream-based ground-segmentation method with a parallel optimization path for solid-state LiDAR, enabling fully pipelined, low-latency processing; (2) a Fast Channel-Clustering (FCC) algorithm for real-time instance formation using line-buffered, local-search micro-architectures; and (3) a ReAct Binary PointPillar detector that binarizes network weights and replaces multiplications with XNOR–popcount, substantially reducing computational and memory requirement while preserving accuracy. All designs emphasize deep pipelining, resource efficiency, and deterministic execution to meet tight timing and energy budgets on edge platforms.In addition to standalone modules, this work integrates classical geometric methods with learning-based approaches to form a hybrid pipeline. It proposes a panoptic-segmentation flow that couples semantic segmentation with clustering-based instance formation, achieving state-of-the-art accuracy.The proposed designs are evaluated on KITTI/SemanticKITTI dataset and real-world collected LiDAR data, demonstrating strong accuracy, high throughput, and robust generalization across multiple types of LiDAR — pointing toward practical, deployable LiDAR intelligence at the edge. Research Advisor:Prof. Xinming HuangECE Department, WPI Committee Members:Prof. Shahin TajikECE Department, WPIProf. Tian Guo Computer Science Department, WPIProf. Honggang WangGraduate Department Chair, Computer Science & Engineering, Yeshiva University

Join ODIME on Fridays from 12:00-2:00pm ET in OASIS House for milk and freshly baked cookies! For more information or accommodations, please contact ODIME at diversity@wpi.edu. All are welcome!

Gain insight from some of The Business School's most recent interns!Join us on Friday, November 7, from 3 PM–4 PM online for the "Preparing for your Internship Virtual Panel." Students who are currently or recently on internship will share about their experiences.Hear about their internship, their first date, lessons learned and what they would have done differently.You can register for the Zoom at this link.

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