Supported by the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies, the NJM Insurance Group, and the
Collaborative Robotics and Smart Systems Laboratory, in partnership with the Foodshed
Alliance, Ghaly will work on the development of smart robotics and multimodal sensor systems
to help farmers manage soil health more effectively, advance technology-driven farming
practices, and contribute to the advancement of smart agriculture. This project is supported in
part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CNS-2117308.

This seminar was co-organized by the IEEE NJS SMC Chapter and RA Chapter. It was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants CMMI-2338767 and CNS-2117308. Join our upcoming seminars in the Montclair .

holds the position of education director at ABB Ltd. She has been with ABB for 11 years, holding positions including Director of Training and Global Product Manager for Robotics Education, and currently serves as the Education Director. She heads the Global Solutions Center for Education at ABB, is a Robotics Technology Strategy Board member for the Association for Advancing Automation, and mentors in FIRST Robotics.

Event Gallery

On September 27, 2023, the IEEE and Robotics E-boards hosted “A Glimpse into The Robotics Industry”, with guest speakers from one of the biggest global leading robotic companies, ABB Inc. This event received great support from the CSAM Dean’s Office and the School of Computing.

Starting with introductory remarks from IEEE Montclair Student Branch Chair Omar Obidat, and Vice-Chair Jesse Parron, both graduate students in computer science, and research assistants for the CRoSS Lab, the seminar began, with them passing the stage to Christelle Keefer and Sivan Levy from ABB Inc.

Christelle Keefer, the Director of Education at ABB Inc, and Sivan Levy, Channel Specialist, enthralled the audience of over 34 on-site/online attendees from different departments by showcasing the Swedish built robotics manufacturing company, ABB Inc. Christelle and Sivan initially discussed their roles in the company. Christelle stated that her goal is to “get turnkey solutions into schools locally in the United States, and globally, by networking with teachers and students to build mobile cell packages with engineers, course designs and materials, and a certificate program”. Sivan Levy, a recent UCLA graduate and current member of the ABB rotational program expressed her role as Channel Specialist as “working with all integrator partners, distributor partners, and education partners to support them with insight sales, marketing materials, and business.”

Following the brief introduction of their roles, they continued to divulge insight into ABB Inc. ABB has 4 business areas, “Electrification, Motion, Process Automation, and Discrete Automation”, which holds 20 divisions within the company. Thus, employing nearly 11 thousand people in more than 50 countries. ABB, being one of the world’s leading robot suppliers, has a comprehensive and integrated portfolio covering robotics and machine automation solutions. ABB’s robots are used in a variety of industries, such as the food industry, 3D printing architecture (concrete for houses), medical centers (research and improving hygiene), entertainment industry (special effects for shows), and automotive (printing car parts). Christelle then went on to discuss the education aspect of ABB. Currently, ABB has robots in over 50 universities and has 5 STEM cobots (collaborative robots) that educators could purchase for students to learn on. As well as, a globally recognized STEM certificate, which can be achieved while working alongside courses for your degree.

Sivan went into detail regarding the ins and outs of RobotStudio, and how powerful this tool is for industry and educators. She stated that it is a “simulation tool that lets you model the concepts of your work cell in a virtual world, and the environment for creating programs is much more powerful, open, and easy to use than others in its class”. Lastly, Sivan expressed that ABB has many internships and Co-op opportunities all over the U.S., and for recent college graduates, the rotational program is excellent to get you well-versed in different areas of the company. This two-year program allows for new hires to travel across the United States, explore different cities and offices, learn different parts of the company, and be provided with an abundance of opportunities to learn from.

Following the conclusion of the presentation, Christelle and Sivan opened the floor to discussion and questions. Students took this opportunity to ask questions such as “What kind of things through classes or otherwise should someone do to prepare themselves to get into the field”? Christelle and Sivan explained to make sure you are good with a programming language and make sure you are passionate with it, for ABB specific look into RobotStudio. Another student asked, “Can you integrate multiple robots, and would they be aware of each other in Robotstudio?” To answer that question, they stated, yes you can, and you can implement as many as you want, you can also implement CAD or SolidWorks models. Entire factories have been simulated before. In particular, CRoSS Lab talked with ABB about the collaboration opportunities to develop Montclair-ABB STEM certificate and Co-op education programs.

Overall, the first newly established Montclair Robotics and AI Seminar Series, “A Glimpse into The Robotics Industry” was a huge success. Vice-Chair Jesse Parron, asked the student audience how they felt regarding the seminar, and was welcomed with happy feedback. A big thank you to ABB Inc’s Christelle Keefer and Sivan Levy for taking the time to provide Montclair students with an amazing presentation.

Keep an eye out for future events of the Montclair Robotics and AI Seminar Series!

The workshop was hosted by the Robotics Club President Omar Obidat and supported by executive board members Jesse Parron, Laury Rodríguez, Abeeha Rehman as well as their Advisor Dr. Weitian Wang and Computer Science Department Chairperson Dr. Constantine Coutras. The club was invited by the STEM Coordinator at Montclair Board of Education Daniel Taylor who became acquainted with MSU Robotics Club after being introduced by CSAM Dean’s Office.

The workshop commenced with opening remarks from Obidat and Dr. Coutras where they expressed their excitement about developing new STEM outreach programs between �ǿ����޴�ý University and the local community.

Students were handed a robotics programming kit containing an ultrasonic sensor and two LED lights connected to an Arduino board. The goal was to light up certain colored LEDs using a moving object in the range of sensors. Every student was also provided with a workshop activity sheet. The e-board members explained each line of code and then allowed the students the opportunity to tweak certain parameters to see how it affected their projects. Their customizations included changing the range of distance, the pattern of lights, and the location of pins on their boards.

The students were also responsible for filling out a questionnaire packet throughout the event. As such, each e-board member was responsible for five students to ensure they understood the concepts being taught as well as answer any questions they may have.

This workshop was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant and Grant . The success of this workshop indicates that a new STEM education bridge was built from �ǿ����޴�ý University to local schools. It also establishes a healthy academic environment where university students and K-12 students are able to collaboratively work on tangible STEM projects and brainstorm new ideas, which will highly nurture and boost their scientific creativity.

In February, the club is conducting a series of workshops on robotics innovation, which received grant support from the National Science Foundation as well as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. A goal of these academic events is to attract more women and underrepresented minorities to the STEM field, Wang says. With students across all academic disciplines working in groups, it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

The Robotics Club is supported by the National Science Foundation under and .

With opening remarks from Omar Obidat, the founder President, a senior computer science major, and a current research assistant for the , the showcase kicked off with his presentation highlighting the newly minted club’s mission and aspirations for the future. Obidat highlighted his desire that the club be a place where students of any major feel comfortable to participate and explore a possible interest in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. He also highlighted that the club is a great fit both for students wishing to pursue careers in robotics and those that are exploring a hobby.

The newborn club will be supported by the Computer Science department. Chairperson Dr. Constantine Coutras highlighted his excitement for the club’s future as he shared some words of encouragement at the end of Obidat’s opening remarks. Dr. Coutras stressed the importance of supporting student clubs and allowing them to pursue new opportunities. He also encouraged the club to reflect the diversity of the university’s student body, reminding all to “try to always be inclusive and try to help everyone out.”

�ǿ����޴�ý University is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with about 30% of the student body being Hispanic/Latino. The school also has a large Female demographic with about 60% of enrolled undergraduates identifying as such. Coutras argued it is important for the club’s E-Board to reflect this especially in a field like Computer Science and Information Technology that in the past has been known to exclude women and people of color.

At the end of his speech, Obidat introduced the club’s founder faculty advisor Dr. Weitian Wang, the Vice President Jesse Parron, the Secretary Jean-Jacques N’Dri, and Treasurer Laury Rodríguez.

At the beginning of Fall 2021, Obidat recruited his robotics classmates, fellow Seniors Parron and N’Dri to prepare for forming a Robotics Club, which received technical support from the National Science Foundation under Grant CNS-2104742 and Grant CNS-2117308. The three students set out to collect the necessary signatures for the club’s commencement and to scope out the potential interest level of students. That’s how they met Laury, a junior who just transferred into Montclair this fall. Given her background in the corporate financial industry, Obidat elected her as the last member of the E-Board.

The showcase was set up as an interactive experience. There were multiple robots and smart systems to choose from including a collaborative robot platform SmaRC, an immersive VR system, a smart armband, a flat screen TV rigged with four sensors turning it into a touch screen display, a rover built and programmed by graduate student Laura Paulino, amongst others.

Dr. Lora Billings, Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, visited the showcase. She was glad to see so many students from different majors interested in robotics. Dr. Billings highlighted several future contributions the robotics club could make to supporting students’ education for the university.

Attendees took turns learning about and testing different robots. They also had the opportunity to speak with members of the E-Board and Dr. Wang.

A number of faculty members heard about the event and decided to pay a visit. Gen Hinson, Director of Career Services for the College of Science and Mathematics attended after hearing about the event from the club’s Treasurer just an hour prior at another event. She was delighted with the outcome and stated afterwards “it is always a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to see first-hand the great projects in which students are involved.”

“The robotics club and its first annual robotics showcase received high recognition from students. The club’s E-Board did a great job and I believe they will bring more exciting robotics activities for our students and the campus community to enjoy” said Dr. Wang.

To keep up to date with the club’s future events, follow them on .