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Dane Morgan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering �University of Wisconsin-Madison
Workshop: Enhancing Undergraduate Research with Machine Learning
10/22/2022
How Undergraduate Informatics Research Changed my Research, Teaching, and Thinking: A Faculty Perspective
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
Personal Outcomes from Undergraduate Informatics Research
Mentoring undergraduates in informatics research enabled:�
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
Changes in Research Direction
0% research in Materials Informatics, Started “Informatics Skunkworks”
2015
>75% research in Materials Informatics
2022
Many ideas, projects, etc
initiated through skunkworks
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
Massive Increase in My Undergraduate Research Impact
1-2 students, competitive positions, ~1h/student/wk, modest product
<2015
2022
Undergraduate ML projects enabled “scalable” mentoring
~30 students, all welcome, ~0.2h/student/wk, significant product
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
New Research and Teaching Tools/Skills
<2015
2022
Undergraduate ML projects exposed me to data science tools
Python programming, Jupyter Notebooks, Google colab, machine learning, …
Skills in molecular simulations largely from graduate/postdoctoral work
Published in
1987
My 2022 course
My 2015 course
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
New Approach to Education
“Traditional” education – slide decks, lectures, focus on technical content
<2015
2022
Undergraduate ML projects taught me what matters in hard problem solving
“Active” education - Focus on complex problem solving, critical thinking, hands-on project work, teamwork, presentation skills
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Motivation: Properties of metallic glasses
Personal Outcomes from Undergraduate Informatics Research
Mentoring undergraduates in informatics research enabled:�