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Jordan Denning discovered her major the day she visited ATLAS Expo in 2016. A lifelong piano player, she was looking for a way to continue developing as an artist and musician while earning an engineering degree. A double-major in computer science and music was her plan until she walked into the ATLAS lobby for Expo and heard a student playing an imaginary synthesizer keyboard with gloves he鈥檇 laced with pressure and motion sensors. She made up her mind on the spot and began her freshman year majoring in Technology, Arts and Media. 

Four years later, Denning, a first-generation college student, is graduating summa cum laude with a BS in TAM, a minor in computer science and a certificate in engineering leadership, and she is a recipient of this year's ATLAS Institute Outstanding Undergraduate Award. Active in CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Society of Women Engineers and a BOLD Scholar, she tutors elementary school students in science and math and has served several times as a panelist for Explore Engineering Day for Women. For the last three years, she鈥檚 been the recipient of BOLD鈥檚 Hauser scholarship. 

鈥淪ome girls are afraid they are not smart enough,鈥� Denning said. 鈥�(I want to tell them:) 鈥榊ou are smart enough. Engineers are people who like to build things. If you are passionate about this, do it. Believe in yourself.鈥� 鈥�

Denning sought out various internships with local technology companies, including Webroot, where she was the only woman on the reverse-engineering malware team, and as an iOS developer last summer with Possible Mobile (now Wunderman Thompson Mobile) in Denver, where she worked on the JetBlue Airways鈥� app. 鈥淚 designed the 鈥榬ecent search鈥� page. It was so cool to open the app and see my work,鈥� said Denning. She was impressed with the company and the team, and apparently customers are impressed with the app, which currently has a 4.9 rating after more than one million reviews. Denning is excited to rejoin the team this summer to begin a full-time position as a mobile app developer.

Projects
Denning鈥檚 portfolio of personal projects is impressive. For Capstone this spring, she and her teammates created the Stride Learning App, an academic coaching tool designed for Stride Learning in Broomfield that serves students with ADHD, dyslexia and poor executive function. The app helps mentors and students set goals and communicate.

鈥淚t's helping a real company solve a real problem,鈥� Denning said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something they will actually use.鈥�

Another tool Denning created that is put to good use is a website for the Engineering Leadership Program that aggregates campus engineering research opportunities for CU 麻豆影院 students. 鈥淭here are so many different research opportunities for students on campus,鈥� said Denning, 鈥渂ut there was no one place you could access them all.鈥�

For her web development class, Denning developed an interactive website that allows visitors to search wines based on different categories, pulling information from an online database that she later connected via Android and iOS apps.

This spring, Denning used her Wearable Technologies class to experiment with the technologies that inspired her to major in TAM in the first place, creating a glove with sensors that control art characteristics, including transparency, RGB values and horizontal and vertical positions.

鈥淛ordan never settles for completing merely average work; instead, she consistently pushes herself to work on more challenging projects beyond the scope of the assignment,鈥� said Aileen Pierce, senior instructor and TAM associate director.  

Outside of academics, Denning was a lead piano teacher at Bravo! Vail. She鈥檚 played soccer all her life and was a member of CU 麻豆影院's Gold Club soccer team in 2019 when they reached the national semi-finals. 

Beginnings
Denning grew up in the mountain town of Eagle, Colorado, attending Battle Mountain High School, where she played varsity soccer and ran for the cross-country team. Encouraged by her father, she took advanced math classes and computer science courses.

鈥淚 realized coding was just another language to learn,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was all about pattern recognition.鈥�

But it wasn鈥檛 until she participated in a high school service trip to Bolivia with the Rio Beni Health Foundation, and the group helped to build an effective and sustainable solution for water filters, that she considered studying engineering. 

鈥淩ealizing that this is what engineering is鈥揵uilding things to help people鈥搊pened the door for me,鈥� she said.
 

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Graduating summa cum laude from the College of Engineering and Applied Science with a BS in Technology, Arts and Media, Nate Bennett has distinguished himself at CU 麻豆影院 as a mentor, teacher and leader. A member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Class, Bennett graduates with a grade point average of 3.98, and he is a recipient of the ATLAS Institute鈥檚 Outstanding Undergraduate Award. In addition to his campus activities, he鈥檚 also completed a rigorous training to become a member of Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.

Much of Bennett鈥檚 career at CU 麻豆影院 revolved around helping others. As a residence hall advisor for three years, he helped freshmen adjust to college life. He鈥檚 worked as a learning assistant in several ATLAS classes and assisted in the ATLAS BTU Lab, teaching students how to safely operate equipment and complete all kinds of class and personal projects.

After an extensive one-year training, he joined Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, which performs search and rescue for those lost or injured in the backcountry, responding to calls at all hours regardless of weather conditions.

鈥淪eeing the way everyone on the team is so selfless鈥攚here people are willing to drop whatever they are busy with in an instant鈥攈as made me more generous with my own time,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淚鈥檝e realized that what鈥檚 important is connecting and sharing your life with others.鈥� Joining the group has shifted his focus from 鈥渃ompleting every line on his 鈥榯o-do鈥� list鈥� to 鈥渄eepening his relationships with other students, friends, rescuers, family members and colleagues.鈥� 

Exceptional projects
After attending a training on psychological first aid and learning about the emotional toll rescuers experience from responding to crises, Bennett created an app for his mobile app production class to help emergency responders assess and monitor their stress levels. Called and now available for free on Apple and Google Play, Bennett designed the app based on numerous interviews with first responders. Released in September, the iOS version of the app has about almost 400 downloads and a 5/5 rating.

鈥淣ate immersed himself in this emerging and fast-paced technology and his exploration showed a passion for learning,鈥� wrote Aileen Pierce, senior instructor and associate director of the Technology, Arts and Media program. 鈥淲ith no prior experience in app development, he became a proficient developer and released First.鈥�

Originally intended for those involved in search and rescue, Bennett has since refined the app to support hospital personnel, firefighters, police officers and others, making it especially applicable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He鈥檚 also proud of his capstone project, , which he and Elsa Roeber completed hours before the Roser ATLAS building closed. Inside a 鈥渕editation cave鈥� that they created from paper and wire, users activate the space by placing their smartphones in a holder by the entrance. They then select a natural environment to emulate by moving one of several stones to the center of a circle, which triggers forest sounds, a mountain stream, a thunderstorm and others. Visitors may also watch a fractal visualization projected on the cave wall.

鈥淔low Room is technically advanced, thoughtful and a perfect example of the cross-disciplinary work we expect in our students,鈥� said Matt Bethancourt, director of the TAM program.

Beginnings
Bennett grew up in Colorado Springs, where he attended high school on the Air Force base. In elementary school, he dreamed of becoming an actor and performed in musicals, and also dabbled in writing a novel. In high school, he became interested in graphic design and photography.

He arrived on campus planning to study neuroscience, but quickly realized he wanted to pursue a more creative field, and an advisor for the Presidents Leadership Class suggested he explore TAM.

鈥淔rom there I was hooked,鈥� he said.

In his spare time Bennett can be found outside rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking, trail running and hiking. He and his fiancee had planned to hike the 2,600 mile-long Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada after graduation, but COVID-19 has put those plans on hold for now. Ultimately he aims to find a position in a design field that allows him to creatively exercise his technical skills on projects related to the outdoors, mindfulness, or connecting people in meaningful new ways. 

鈥淚t's important for me to work on things that can improve people鈥檚 lives,鈥� Bennett says. 鈥淏ut most importantly, I know that working with a great team of passionate, creative and kind individuals is where I thrive most.

鈥淭he most important thing I learned from TAM was that I could be thrown into any situation鈥攏ew technology, new strategies of designing things or a new work environment鈥攁nd be able to adapt and use the foundational creative design techniques I learned in TAM.鈥�

His advice for the incoming class of 2024?

鈥淐ollege is such a pivotal time in life, and you don鈥檛 know what you want to do. It's so important to take advantage of as much as you can. Don't be afraid to throw yourself into new situations and see where you fit.鈥� 

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Jolie Klefeker graduates on May 14 from the College of Engineering and Applied Science with a BS in Technology, Arts and Media, but as a researcher in the ATLAS Institute鈥檚Unstable Design Lab, her work often rises to the level of a successful PhD student. 

Her research achievements include authoring three papers accepted by major academic conferences, selection as a Grace Hopper Research Scholar, receiving ATLAS Institute鈥檚 Outstanding Undergraduate Award and the College of Engineering and Applied Science鈥檚 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award.

"I am very proud to be graduating and of the research I have done,鈥� said Klefeker. 鈥淚t's taken personal growth to get to this point, and I'm proud of that too."

Klefeker鈥檚 distinguished work on smart textiles included a work-in-progress accepted by ACM鈥檚 2018 CHI: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems; another work-in-progress to the 2019 Designing Interactive Systems Conference; and a full-length, peer-reviewed publication for CHI 2020.

Laura Devendorf, assistant professor of information sciences and director of the Unstable Design Lab, said that Klefeker鈥檚 CHI 2020 paper was 鈥渙ne of the best-reviewed papers I have seen in my career.鈥�

鈥淐HI is an incredibly prestigious venue for cutting-edge research in human-computer interaction that receives thousands of submissions and accepts roughly 24 percent,鈥� Devendorf said. 鈥淢any of the most talented researchers and PhD students struggle to have their papers accepted there.鈥�

Devendorf notes that Klefeker was the lead author on all three papers, meaning all the research was led, performed and written by her. 

鈥淭he fact that she completed this work on top of her undergraduate studies is even more impressive,鈥� she said.

While working as a student researcher in Devendorf鈥檚 lab, Klefeker became fascinated in the online subculture of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos, which show people slowly interacting with objects and whispering into microphones, triggering tingling bodily sensations in site visitors. Through this Klefeker recognized a broader cultural desire for slow and sensory-rich interactions with digital media, a way to 鈥渟ubvert fast-paced technology to promote slow and mindful interactions.鈥� Her research examines whether the aesthetics of ASMR media can inspire the design of technology that provokes reflective thoughts and relaxation.

Klefeker grew up in Littleton, Colorado, where she alternated between aspirations of becoming a race car driver, fashion designer, attorney, astronaut and music journalist. Beginning in high school, she became a DJ for 1190 KVCU, CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 radio station, and later served as the station鈥檚 music director. She also plays piano. 

Initially planning to study marketing at CU 麻豆影院, her plans pivoted after listening to ATLAS Director Mark Gross and TAM Director Matt Bethancourt present the TAM major on Admitted Students Day.

鈥淚 absolutely fell in love with TAM,鈥� Klefeker said. 鈥淚 was really excited to take art classes and be creative, but to also push myself out of my comfort zone and launch into coding and making.鈥�

Her favorite class? Critical Technical Practice taught by Devendorf. The class led to her research in the Unstable Design Lab; Klefeker鈥檚 first published paper was also her final class project.
 
鈥淚t was a life-changing class,鈥� Klefeker said. 鈥淚 discovered a love for theory and academic writing and was formally introduced to the concept of human-computer interaction research.鈥�  
 
When not in the lab or class, Klefeker worked as a web developer for Cycling 鈥�74, an audio software company, where she plans to continue working as a full-stack engineer after graduation. Her long-term plans include attending graduate school to continue her research on human-computer interaction and design.
 
鈥淭AM gave me the skills to teach myself outside of the classroom, whether it鈥檚 how to break down a dense journal paper into smaller pieces to understand it, design skills such as effective brainstorming and prototyping, or how to dig through documentation to solve a bug when I鈥檓 programming,鈥� she said.
 
As for her advice to the incoming class of 2024, she says, 鈥淔ail! It鈥檚 the best way to learn and to grow.  Also, sleep!鈥� 

Read More about Jolie鈥檚 research   

Unstable Design Lab projects
Using ASMR to Sense the Life of Things
String Figuring
 
Papers
Josephine Klefeker, Libi Streigl and Laura Devendorf. 2020. . In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20). (Honolulu, Hawaii (canceled) 鈥� April 25-30, 2020).

Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. 2019. Envisioning Reflective and Relaxing Design with ASMR. In Companion Publication of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2019 (DIS '19 Companion). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 225-229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3301019.3323903. (San Diego, CA 鈥� June 23 - 28, 2019). 

Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. 2018. String Figuring: A Story of Reflection, Material Inquiry, and a Novel Sensor. In Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA. '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper LBW086, 6 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3188570 (Montreal, Canada 鈥� April 21-26, 2018).

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