Key Takeaways
- NerdXing is a new tool developed by MIT students to help navigate the university’s curriculum and discover new classes and disciplines.
- The tool allows students to search for a class and see what other classes students have taken in the past, including unconventional options.
- Julianna Schneider, the creator of NerdXing, is a senior at MIT who is passionate about interdisciplinary studies and using technology to make people’s lives better.
- Schneider has a background in classical piano and robotics, and has developed several projects, including an app to connect volunteers with local charities.
- She is currently working in the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory at MIT, where she is developing controllers for robots to be used in high-stakes scenarios.
Introduction to NerdXing
NerdXing is a innovative tool developed by MIT students to help navigate the university’s complex curriculum. The brainchild of senior Julianna Schneider and other students in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Undergraduate Advisory Group (UAG), NerdXing lets students search for a class and see all the other classes students have gone on to take in the past, including options that are off the beaten track. This tool is designed to democratize course knowledge and provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of the curriculum. By using NerdXing, students can discover new classes and disciplines that they may not have considered before, and create a more personalized and interdisciplinary academic path.
Julianna Schneider’s Background and Motivations
Julianna Schneider is a senior at MIT who is double-majoring in artificial intelligence and decision-making and in mathematics. She is also doing research in the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Schneider’s passion for interdisciplinary studies and using technology to make people’s lives better is evident in her work. She believes that technology should be used to solve real-world problems and make a positive impact on society. Schneider’s background in classical piano and robotics has also influenced her approach to problem-solving and innovation. She has developed several projects, including an app to connect volunteers with local charities, and is currently working on developing controllers for robots to be used in high-stakes scenarios.
From Albania to MIT
Before attending MIT, Schneider was an accomplished young classical pianist in Albania. She discovered her passion for robotics at age 13 and quickly became involved in her high school’s robotics team. Schneider’s experience in robotics and her passion for using technology to make a positive impact have taken her to MIT, where she is now working on developing innovative solutions to real-world problems. Her experience at an international school in Albania encouraged her to recognize problems and solutions all around her, and she is now applying this skill to her work at MIT.
NerdXing as a Continuation of Previous Work
NerdXing is not Schneider’s first experience building new technology. At just 16, she built an app called VoluntYOU, which connected English-speaking volunteers from her international school in Tirana, Albania, to local charities that only posted jobs in Albanian. By last year, the platform had 18 ambassadors across four continents and had enabled volunteers to give out more than 2,000 burritos in Reno, Nevada, register hundreds of signatures to support women’s rights legislation in Albania, and help with administering Covid-19 vaccines to more than 1,200 individuals a day in Italy. Schneider describes NerdXing as a continuation of many of the skills she picked up while building VoluntYOU, and believes that it has the potential to make a significant impact on the MIT community.
Robotics with a Positive Impact
At MIT, Schneider is working in the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory of Professor Sangbae Kim, where she has participated in three research projects, one of which she’s co-authoring a paper on. She’s part of a team that tests how robots, including the famous back-flipping mini cheetah, move, in order to see how they could complement humans in high-stakes scenarios. Schneider hopes to further robotic capabilities so she can find applications that will service communities around the world. One of her goals is to help create tools that allow a surgeon to operate on a patient a long distance away. Schneider’s work in robotics is driven by her passion for using technology to make a positive impact, and she believes that her research has the potential to make a significant difference in people’s lives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NerdXing is a innovative tool developed by MIT students to help navigate the university’s curriculum and discover new classes and disciplines. Julianna Schneider, the creator of NerdXing, is a senior at MIT who is passionate about interdisciplinary studies and using technology to make people’s lives better. Her background in classical piano and robotics, as well as her experience developing innovative solutions to real-world problems, have influenced her approach to innovation and problem-solving. Schneider’s work in robotics and her development of NerdXing are just a few examples of her commitment to using technology to make a positive impact on society. As she continues to work on developing innovative solutions to real-world problems, it is clear that Schneider will make a significant contribution to the field of robotics and beyond.
