Tour #1
Applied Physics Lab
(Limit 30; Travel time required. Buses depart Homewood at 1:15
pm)
The Applied Physics Laboratory adapts science and
technology to meet human needs, helping to shape the world
around us, for today and for the future. The core purpose
of the Laboratory is to enhance the security of the nation
through the application of science and technology. APL is
firmly committed to space science and technology and other
challenging areas that are also synergistic with our core
purpose. In addition, the Laboratory carries on important
work in areas such as biomedicine and education that are
synergistic with the University as a whole.
Tour time > 1:15 pm to 2:45 >
Homewood Campus Tours
Tour #2
FUSE Control Room
(Limit 15)
Visit the command room from which Johns Hopkins scientists and
engineers control and operate NASA's 18-foot, 3,000-pound Far
Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. For 7
years, FUSE has helped researchers gather unique data about
everything from planets and nearby stars to galaxies and quasars
billions of light years away. FUSE is the largest astrophysics
mission NASA has ever handed off to a university to manage.
Tour #3
Haptic Exploration Lab
(Limit 15)
"Haptics" refers to the sense of touch, and Allison Okamura,
assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is trying to give
robots the ability to collect such sensations in their "fingers"
and convey them to a human operator. Applications include
surgical assistant devices that may help doctors perform
operations with greater precision. Her tour will focus on these
robots and on her wider research into human-machine
interaction.
Tour #4
Child Development Lab
(Limit 15)
At Johns Hopkins University's Laboratory for Child Development,
researchers use normal childhood milestones as fodder for
research into everything from how infants keep track of objects
to whether babies and children are logical and rational when it
comes to decision-making. Topics studied in the lab include how
children learn words for new objects and actions; how children
understand numbers prior to any formal mathematical knowledge
and how young children reason about moving or hidden objects,
among others. Studies involve children ages three months to six
years, and take place in this new, brightly-painted lab
decorated in a friendly zoo theme.
Tour #5
Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering Lab
(Limit 20)
Using stem cells and materials called hydrogels, Jennifer
Elisseeff is developing a new minimally invasive way to restore
bone and cartilage that have been damaged by disease or injury.
The stems cells are mixed with nutrients that will coax them to
form new bone or cartilage. The mixture is injected into the
injury site in a liquid that hardens into a gel when exposed to
a special light. Elisseeff, an assistant professor of biomedical
engineering, will discuss her tissue engineering research and
provide tours of her lab.
Tour #6
JHU Hydrodynamics Test Facility
(Limit 20)
In an indoor tank filled with almost 43,000 gallons of water,
Johns Hopkins engineers are developing and testing computer
control systems that serve as the "brains" for some of the
world's leading deep sea robotic exploration vehicles. Louis
Whitcomb, professor of mechanical engineering, will lead
visitors through this facility, which features a small
underwater robotic test vehicle. Whitcomb's team has developed
navigation and control systems for some of the world's major new
deep sea oceanographic research robots operated by the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Tour #7
Coastal Engineering Laboratory
(Limit 30)
Travel required - ends at 2:30 PM)
Internationally respected coastal engineering expert Robert A.
Dalrymple has been summoned in recent years to inspect post-
tsunami damage in Thailand and the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans. He has provided advice on how to build
coastal structures that can better withstand such natural
disasters. Dalrymple, a professor of civil engineering at Johns
Hopkins, will show visitors a large wave tank he is using to
advance this research.
Tour #8
Computed Tomography (CT) Lab
(Limit 10)
Dr. Elliot Fishman is widely regarded as one of the world's top
experts in CT imaging. His developments in computer-aided
graphics for CT helped pave the way for Pixar. Visit Dr.
Fishman's CT workstation and see state-of-the-art in 3-D
diagnostic imaging using the most powerful CT systems and
imaging systems available. Dr. Fishman will provide breathtaking
examples of the power of CT to "peel" a patient layer by layer,
identify cancer, and visualize human anatomy in stunning detail.
90 minutes.
Tour #9
Minimally Invasive Surgical Training Center
(Limit 15)
Sophisticated simulators today are changing the way doctors are
trained. Betsy Hunt, assistant professor in the department of
anesthesiology and critical care medicine and director of the
Johns Hopkins Simulation (SIM) Center, with assistance from
"Hugh", an electronic instructional device, is helping medical
professionals make faster diagnoses, master simple procedures
more quickly and improve patient safety. About half of the
third-year students at Hopkins currently participate in
simulation training as part of their instruction in surgery and
internal medicine. Hunt will provide visitors with a
demonstration of the new birthing, infant and adult simulators
and will give a tour of the current facility, The Clinical
Education Center, where medical students work with standardized
patients and learn how to take histories and physical exams, and
the future SIM center which is scheduled for completion in
2007.
Tour #10
Stem Cell Lab
(Limit 20)
Dr. Doug Kerr and his team of neurologists made international
headlines in June when they announced they had used embryonic
stem cells to develop new, fully-working motor neuron circuits -
neurons stretching from spinal cord to target muscles - in
paralyzed adult rats, giving them to ability to regain use of
their hind legs. Dr. Kerr and his team are now beginning to test
the protocol on pigs, a necessary step in what could eventually
be a therapeutic option for humans. Dr. Kerr will discuss his
research and present some of his successfully treated lab
animals.
Tour #11
Integrated Imaging Lab
(Limit 20)
The Integrated Imaging Lab is equipped with electron
and light microscopes and serves the diverse academic
and research interests of our students and faculty. It is
intended to provide convenient access to both
conventional and advanced techniques in light
and electron microscopy for the purpose of
investigating cellular/subcellular structure and function.
SESSION TWO
Tour time > 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm
Tour #12 | FUSE Control Room
(Limit 15)
See explanation above.
Tour #13 | Haptic Exploration Lab
(Limit 15)
See explanation above.
Tour #14 | Child Development Lab
(Limit 15)
See explanation above.
Tour #15 | Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering Lab
(Limit 20)
See explanation above.
Tour #16 | JHU Hydrodynamics Test Facility
(Limit 20)
See explanation above.
Tour #17 | Coastal Engineering Laboratory
(Limit 30 Travel required - ends at 4:30 PM)
See explanation above.
Tour #18 | Integrated Imaging Lab
(Limit 20)
See explanation above.