The��Aqlan Lab��team, in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering Department of Industrial Engineering, recently wrapped up its second summer hosting an intensive internship program��aimed at engaging undergraduate and high school students in community-focused projects. Funded by the National Science Foundation, this dynamic program involved 21 interns working on six projects over an eight-week period. The initiative, led by, associate professor of industrial engineering,��focuses on improving educational environments to bolster the regional STEM workforce and effect positive changes in the Louisville Metro community.��

“The second summer of the program went exceedingly well this year,” Aqlan said. “Moving forward, we hope to continue to grow the program, connect with even more community members and make a profound impact on the Louisville Metro.”��

Notably, this program collaborates with the University of Notre Dame, creating a synergy that goes beyond football rivalries. Together, they’ve formed a, aimed at revitalizing Midwest cities by retaining local talent and encouraging research-driven community engagement. The ultimate goal of the project is to establish an interconnected network of STEM education initiatives to benefit the regional workforce.����

The impact of the 2023 projects was profound, addressing various local challenges such as food justice, walkability improvement in Downtown Louisville, waterway cleanup, virtual reality applications and the preservation of native species. Throughout the internship, students were exposed to professional development workshops, including design thinking, networking, diversity, and time management.����

The diverse group of interns, hailing from various institutions, collected and analyzed data to develop practical solutions for their respective projects, subsequently presenting these ideas to the community. This program not only equips the next generation of STEM professionals with valuable skills but also instills a strong sense of civic responsibility and community engagement.����

“The CEEEM Internship was the best experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all that I learned through the program,” shares Ella Swigler, a 2023 CEEEM intern. “This opportunity allowed me to design a research project, work with very supportive team mentors, and meet some incredible community members in my field of study. Thanks to the CEEEM Internship, I have discovered my research passion for urban waterways- and even greater, I have gained the skills needed to apply scientific study to community change.”��

As UofL and Notre Dame take the field, they also stand united in their commitment to creating a brighter future for their communities. The collaboration internship program not only equips the next generation of STEM professionals with valuable skills but also instills a strong sense of civic responsibility and community engagement. Together, they aim to foster an environment that encourages participants to remain engaged in the Louisville Metro and other Midwest cities, ultimately leaving a lasting positive impact on the regions they serve. Through this program, students are gaining hands-on experience and contributing to the betterment of their communities while preparing for future careers.��

By Danielle Henson

“The Golden Key,” an adaptation of a 19th century Scottish fairytale, is the result of a multifaceted collaboration between the School of Music and The College of Arts and Sciences. The world premiere is an all University of Louisville production. The entire cast hails from the School of Music, including faculty Emily Albrink and Chad Sloan, and students Olivia Andrew, Cameron Carnes and Emma Pinkly. The music is by Gabriel Evens, professor, pianist and composer in the School of Music, and the book and lyrics are by Jeffrey Skinner, professor in the creative arts program in the English department.

“The Golden Key” is a story for adults and children that explores what’s in our hearts and our innermost desires.

“It is something that anybody can identify with. It’s about getting what you truly want in this life,” Skinner said. “What does it mean to want something? Am I wanting the right things? All of those questions come into this play.”

Skinner and Evens have been working on the project for over a year, but the pair solidified their creative partnership with an earlier project about bugs. Evens wanted to compose an album that was all about insects.

“Instead of about house pets, I wanted to write about bugs. Just all different types of bugs,” Evens said. “The hard part, for me, I am not a natural lyricist. I sent an email to the English department and stated that I was looking for someone to collaborate with, to help me clear up my language and make the lyrics better.”

Skinner replied to the request and their partnership would set the foundation for the musical fairytale project. Following a successful collaboration about creepy crawlies, “The Golden Key” came to be when Skinner shared with Evens his desire to write a full musical rather than just lyrics.

“When we collaborated on the bug project, I discovered that I can write lyrics. It’s a different art than poetry,” Skinner said. “I looked for a project and found one, from a 19th century Scottish writer named George Macdonald, that was a favorite of C.S. Lewis.”

The music for the production has a modern feel on the nostalgia of past musicals.

“It’s not going to be the musical that you would expect from ‘Frozen’ or something like that,” Evens said. “It harkens back more to Julie Andrews like the ‘Sound of Music.’ The music is kind of a little bit of a throwback, although it feels modern.”

The premiere, at 7 p.m., Oct. 28 in Comstock Hall, is a non-choreographed read and sing through. It is free and open to the public, however there is limited seating due to COVID and registration is required.

“It would be impossible for us to fulfill our mission of innovating the aging experience without first ensuring the safety and health of our older adult patients and staff during the pandemic,” said Anna Faul, executive director of the Trager Institute. “This partnership with LoDI has been beneficial for us to understand what we need to do to return to normal capacity when the positivity rates are at a level that would be absolutely safe for our patients and staff.”

Through the collaboration, LoDI and Trager Institute leaders established capacity and utilization estimates to allow Trager staff to transition from telehealth and work-from-home policies to hybrid policies allowing a return to in-clinic visits for patients and location-based work for Trager students, faculty and staff.

LoDI, housed at the , is dedicated to developing innovative delivery processes for industries including manufacturing, service and health care. Students and faculty at LoDI recently worked with businesses in the oil and refinery field, a public utility and the .

For the project at the Trager Institute, a team led by Lihui Bai, co-director of LoDI, used a simulation model to determine a safe volume of traffic that allows proper social distancing at the Optimal Aging Clinic. In particular, the study team, which included Monica Gentili, Arsalan Paleshi and LoDI Fellow Shahab Sadri, simulated operations at the clinic to determine the maximum number of clinical staff, patients, faculty and students, as well as Trager faculty and staff, that safely could be present in the building.

The results of the study will serve as a guide for Trager Institute leadership in determining the percentage of clinic appointments that must be kept virtual and the number of learners and institute staff and faculty who safely could resume on-site activities. The clinic will implement the guidelines provided by the study once coronavirus infection rates in the community reach an acceptable level to resume in-person visits.

“Our study found that patient and staff movements at key common areas throughout the facility are within the safety measures of a COVID-19 environment,” Bai said. “We were happy to be a part of this collaboration by applying our simulation model to study the traffic patterns at the Optimal Aging Clinic. We look forward to extending this study to evaluate other operations measures such as utilization and possible improvements in a joint future research with the team at the Trager Institute.”

“We are grateful to the LoDI team for their expertise in helping us determine safe and efficient operating procedures at the clinic,” Faul said.

The event, which celebrates Women’s History and month, will feature the Olmsted Academy South’s string orchestra playing with the UofL Symphony Orchestra.

The groups will perform the premiere of “Revolt of the Brave” by composer and UofL alumna . The piece was commissioned and funded through , a national organization which strives to introduce students to the experience of creating and performing new music.

“The purpose of this event is to show young ladies what they can do,” said Kimcherie Lloyd, UofL Director of Orchestral Studies and Co-Director of Opera Theatre.

The 6 p.m. event will also feature student presentations of famous women in history and students’ artwork with accompanying string ensemble music.

“We are so excited to collaborate��with UofL��for our third year of ‘Because She Did, I Can’,” said Courtney Schisler, Olmsted Academy South’s Orchestra teacher and UofL alumna. “Our motto is that we are��brave. This event gives our young ladies the��opportunity to show how brave they��are and��allows��them��to��connect with and learn from brave women of��the��past and present.”

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees will be directed to programming in Comstock and Bird Recital halls, School of Music, 105 W. Brandeis Ave.