Category Archives: Public

Navigating Depths: My Voyage in Ocean Robotics,” An AAUW Speaker Series Talk

Jaine Perotti is a Robotics Engineer living in Richmond, Vermont. She graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2022 with dual bachelor’s degrees in Robotics and Physics. She works for a Vermont-based company which specializes in custom subsea robotics software and several marine robots designed to perform different tasks.

Jaine has been involved mainly in mapping and navigation software. Her software will be deployed on the US Navy’s fleet of EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) robots in order to map and track mines in the water. Her current project is developing SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) software to help improve navigation accuracy on a ship hull-cleaning robot. Customers of the ship-hull cleaning service include major cruise lines. Jaine will be giving a talk on her career trajectory, from her college education all the way up through her current projects. Sponsored by the Middlebury Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

ESI College: Reflecting on the 2024 Election with Professor Matt Dickinson

The 2024 presidential election has already seen one major candidate survive an assassination attempt and another drop out after winning his party’s primary. It is likely to bring us an unprecedented result as well, with either the first woman president or the first president to be elected after being convicted of a felony. Join us to discuss what happened on November 5 and why.

Instructor: Matt Dickinson teaches at Middlebury College, where he specializes in the study of American politics, particularly Congress and the presidency. Previously, he taught at Harvard University, where he also earned his Ph.D. in Government. He is the author of Bitter Harvest: FDR, Presidential Power, and the Growth of the Presidential Branch.