In 2018, the YUAA was awarded a grant from NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative. The group formed the CubeSat team to create a 2U — or 20 centimeters x 10 centimeters x 10 centimeters — satellite, named the Bouchet Low Earth Alpha-Beta Space Telescope, or BLAST. After seven years of development, BLAST is scheduled to launch this winter on a NASA mission and will be deployed from the International Space Station.

“I feel very lucky as an undergraduate to be able to work on flight hardware and software that will be launched into space and remain in orbit for several years,” said co-project lead Grady Morrissey ’24.

The satellite is designed to measure cosmic rays in low Earth orbit before the rays enter Earth’s atmosphere. Cosmic rays are high-energy streams of particles radiating from space, usually from outside the solar system. When they reach Earth’s atmospheres, they decay into lower-energy particles.

Detecting and identifying such rays is an extremely relevant and ongoing area of research with ramifications for cosmology and particle theory, according to Morrissey. The BLAST CubeSat will measure the energy and flux of these cosmic rays and make the data available online to the public.

Morrissey noted that two of the key subsystems in the satellite are entirely designed and manufactured by students: the cosmic ray detector and the gravity gradient boom — the system that allows the satellite to maintain its orientation.

The gravity gradient boom consists of a tape measure controlled by a sprocket to change the center of mass of the satellite, inducing an effect called “tidal locking” which maintains the satellite orientation throughout its orbit.

“It’s been really cool to see how work is coordinated between each subteam, and to see the direct effects of design decisions as they are passed between each group,” said co-project lead Elijah Bakaleynik ’24.

Validating a satellite for the harsh environment of space happens in incremental steps, according to Morrissey. Last semester, the team “cold-tested” components of their satellite in Wright Lab.

There, the team brought the instrument down to -40 degrees Celsius and validated its functionality. This thermal testing, Morrissey noted, ensured that their satellite would perform well in the cold.

Morrissey highlighted how CubeSat has provided many undergraduate students with the novel opportunity to develop a product that will be launched into space — an experience directly applicable to myriad future careers in a wide range of industries — as well as allowing for the possibility of more advanced CubeSats launched by Yale in the future.

“The team meetings are the highlights of my week,” Computer-Aided Design and Mechanical Integration sub team lead Matilda Vary ’25 said. “The technical and leadership experiences I have gained on the mechanical team have helped me in classes and securing summer internships.”

The CubeSat team hopes their launch will benefit other teams and scientists, as well as contribute to making space more accessible. They plan to publish the design post-launch, as well as the data on their website to create a publicly accessible dataset available for research.

Moreover, the data collected by the detector will be transmitted regularly over radio, allowing amateur radio operators around the world to receive and analyze it.

The team also hopes to travel to Houston Flight Control to witness the launch of the BLAST CubeSat this winter and celebrate the successful culmination of nearly 8 years of work.

“This group has been an incredible opportunity for me to develop my own engineering skills, meet an amazing community of like-minded students and see what it is like to actually be an aerospace engineer,” Attitude Determination and Control Algorithm lead Henry Demarest ’25 said.

The CubeSat team meets on Saturdays 12 to 4 p.m. in Watson B-42.

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Kim and his colleagues at Pixar Animation Studios — David Eberle, Fernando de Goes and Audrey Wong — received this award for the design and development of the Fizt2 elastic simulation system, which simulates elastic materials like skin and muscle in animation. 

The system builds upon Pixar’s original cloth simulator Fizt, which was first used for “Monster’s Inc.” in 2001. Fizt was used to model the dynamics of the clothing for one of the film’s main characters, Boo, and according to Kim, it was a breakthrough at the time. However, animated films get more sophisticated every year. 

“What if Boo wears a shirt with tight cuffs, or she wants to put on a belt, or wants to put on a multi-layers flamenco dress?” Kim asked. “Fizt couldn’t handle complicated clothing like that.”

This demand for more complex animation is what led to the development of Fizt2, which de Goes described as an “in-house physically-based simulator for soft bodies” with the capability of “add[ing] physics to any 3D objects in our scenes.”

In order to better model elastic materials, Kim and his collaborators needed to redesign collision detection and response algorithms. Previous simulation programs, Kim explained, used methods that were slow and unstable. He and his collaborators needed to revisit the basic physics of the algorithms in order to develop fast and precise methodologies of computing the core calculations involved.

Kim said that their main task was to find “some elegant new equations that had been hiding deep inside the math this entire time,” so that they could increase the efficiency and stability of their algorithms.

According to Eberle, the development of Fizt2 first became necessary for Pixar’s film “Coco,” as the previous system, Fizt, only supported collision handling at discrete steps. For example, the animated cloth would not stay in place on the fast-moving and thin skeleton characters in the film, Eberle said, so it was necessary to add continuous handling methods to accommodate that. He also had to spend time improving the performance and multi-threading of the simulator, he added, because the increased garment complexity in the film led to many layers being stimulated at once.

“These features are essential to delivering visually pleasing simulation results even when the animated character’s underlying motion isn’t physically plausible,” Eberle said.

De Goes said that his role in the project was co-authoring the design of new physically-based material models and integrating them into the simulator. One of the goals of Fizt2 was to make computer-generated animations look believable even when they stretch reality, he explained. Rather than adjusting poses frame by frame, the team aimed to provide a system that could assist artists in infusing physics into their animations. 

According to Eberle, another goal of Fizt2 was adding volume simulation, in addition to simulating shell surfaces such as cloth. He noted that he was “very lucky” to have Kim, de Goes and Brennan Smith in the research group, as they had already been working on “novel formulations that allowed for computational efficiency and would provide a new bar of stability that can hold up under an onslaught of production challenges.” Eberle was able to integrate their research into the Fizt2 simulator, allowing them to simulate cloth and volumes together for characters like Wilden Lightfoot in “Onward.” 

“Working on a project like this takes a good amount of mathematics, physics, and computer science,” de Goes said. “It requires close collaboration with our artists so that we can mold our work based on what they want to achieve.”

Kim previously won an Academy Award in Technical Achievement in 2012 for developing the Wavelet Turbulence software for detailed gas simulation.

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The award seeks to advance cutting-edge artificial intelligence research to solve real-world problems. Papamanthou won the award in the category of “AI to Liberate Data Safely” for his research on zero-knowledge proofs, which enable a party to convince an audience about the validity of a mathematical statement without revealing why the statement is true. 

“Right now at Yale, we are leading the efforts to create faster protocols for zero-knowledge proofs,” Papamanthou said.

Zero-knowledge proofs have found myriad uses in blockchains and cryptocurrencies, applications where it is essential to protect a user’s privacy. According to Papamanthou, the award will support the development of new protocols for zero-knowledge proofs. 

Using zero-knowledge proofs, Papamanthou explained, a payer can transfer money to a payee without revealing any information about the identities or the amount involved in the transaction — even to the party responsible for checking transaction validity. This allows for a variety of applications in the financial industry, not limited to cryptocurrency, by eliminating the need for a user to trust that a service will not misuse their personal information. 

According to Papamanthou, one of the main limitations of zero-knowledge proofs is their scalability. Papamanthou’s proposed research will construct new zero-knowledge proofs with improved scalability and explore their various applications, such as building efficient and more secure systems.

“For example, you can use a zero-knowledge proof to log into your Google account without ever sending your password,” Papamanthou said. 

Ben Fisch, assistant professor of computer science and co-director of the Yale Applied Cryptography Lab with Papamanthou, who also works on zero-knowledge proofs, emphasized the impact and applicability of Papamanthou’s research. 

In the digital world today, Fisch explained, services perform countless computations on customers’ data, from managing financial ledgers and databases to complex analytics. It is necessary, according to him, to trust the services to not only operate correctly, but also to keep the information private. 

Zero-knowledge proofs can eliminate this need for trust by eliminating the need to provide confidential information to a service. 

“Proof systems have incredible applications to privacy and verifiability in a decentralized web,” Fisch said.

Joan Feigenbaum, Grace Murray Hopper professor of computer science, also works at the Yale Applied Cryptography Laboratory led by Papamanthou and Fisch. She described the lab as a place where she and her team can explore concrete, impactful connections between blockchain, economics and law.

“It has been a great opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research with a diverse group of people, ranging from senior colleagues in multiple fields to undergraduate students,” said Feigenbaum.

Papamanthou covers zero-knowledge proofs in his class CPSC 467: Introduction to Cryptography.

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Emma Louden GRD ’26, Maya Foster GRD ’27 and Masashi Kaneda GRD ’26 will each receive an award of $50,000 to use on academic expenses, as well as both in-person and virtual opportunities for fellows to gain a deeper understanding of the intersection between STEM and society. The Quad Fellowship is a partnership between four nations: Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

“Everything I do is driven by a deep belief that science will make the world better,” Louden said.

Louden is a third-year doctoral student in Yale’s Department of Astronomy, studying the geometry of exoplanet systems. Categorizing the obliquities, effects of tides, evolutions and other characteristics in solar systems both similar and different to our own helps Louden better understand “Earth’s precarious position in the universe.”

As a Quad fellow, Louden is excited to gain a deeper understanding of how a career in science can intersect with public policy. Through the Quad Fellowship’s core program, fellows will learn how to best utilize their research for the collective benefit of the world. 

“I’m passionate about the Quad Fellowship’s mission to gather the brightest minds in STEM for the collective good,” Louden said. “I want to not only do the best science I can, but do it for the benefit of the world.”

Foster is a second-year doctoral student in biomedical engineering at Yale. She develops neuroimaging data analysis methods to characterize the brain networks and dynamics that underlie the development of psychosis-spectrum disorders such as schizophrenia. Her research, she said, bridges her experience with neuroscience and computer science research to provide high-utility, quantitative interpretations of brain dynamics.

“The Quad Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to improve my understanding of policy and how science and public policy intersect to impact society,” Foster said.

Foster added that she is excited to work with leaders who have experience translating scientific jargon into the language of policy makers, learning how to advocate for policies that benefit the populations she is interested in supporting through her research. Being a part of the Quad community, she said, will give her the unique experience to gain an understanding of how laws and culture influence scientific research, development and progress.

Furthermore, Foster is dedicated to applying her research to the populations it affects, including them in the process of shaping her primary research questions and goals instead of limiting her scientific training to just her field. She explains that she has ventured out to get clinical perspectives and observe how data related to psychiatric care and research is traditionally processed — as well as what doctors are paying attention to — in order to construct a dependable pipeline of analysis.

“It is common in academia to be restricted to science and numbers,” Foster said. “Less thought is considered regarding the patients and the populations that research ultimately affects.”

As a third-year doctoral student in chemical and environmental engineering at Yale, Kaneda is developing innovative technologies to address the global water security problem. His motivation to study water treatment technology stems from his previous volunteer experience in Indonesia, where he observed poorly maintained local water systems and sanitation. 

Kaneda aims to address the global water shortage problem by helping make safe and affordable drinking water accessible to all those in need,  especially individuals in rural areas. In his work as a chemical-environmental engineer, Kaneda explains, he collaborates with scientists across disciplines to create more robust water supply networks. 

“I aspire to work with policy makers to develop and deploy efficient water treatment technologies that consider local needs and meet country-specific public acceptance,” Kaneda said.

The Quad Fellowship is an educational initiative of The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation.

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NASA’s Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology, or FINESST, grant allows NASA to identify future leaders in varying fields, such as earth and planetary science. On his third time applying, Soto — a fifth year doctoral student at the Jetz Lab in Yale’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology — received the grant for his research in Earth science.

“The pandemic became a once in a lifetime experiment under the most tragic of circumstances,” Soto said.

Along with collaborators Scott Yanco, a postdoctoral student at the Jetz Lab, and Ruth Oliver, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Soto attempted to understand how such drastic changes in human behavior affect animals in various ways. Researchers understand that developed landscapes alter animal movement, explained Yanco, but are just beginning to fully understand the specifics.

Furthermore, such studies could have important implications for understanding how vulnerable species will be affected by climate change. According to Soto, understanding how animals respond to extreme events can provide insight into how they will respond to climate change and how humans should change their behaviors to protect the surrounding ecosystems.

For example, understanding how species react to events such as a heat wave — an occurrence that will become more common in many climates — will allow scientists to understand what habitats need to be protected to preserve biodiversity.

“We are part of an ecological system, even though we don’t always think that way,” Yanco said. “Our food systems, our health and well-being, our clean water, our breathable air — are all dependent on natural ecosystems.”

Yanco mentioned that he is excited to be able to look at different typologies of responses to understand how different species respond in different ways. The vast amount of new data on wildlife habits and behaviors can provide researchers with much more precise information on animals’ responses to radical events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We still don’t fully understand how wildlife navigate an increasingly human-dominated world,” Oliver said. “Our goal is to understand the specific mechanisms of how wildlife cope with various human activities, so that we can make predictions about how they will fare in the future and make decisions that support the wellbeing of humans and wildlife.”

Being able to predict biodiversity on short timescales is crucial to society’s well-being, Soto said, citing the necessity of understanding where disease-carrying desert locusts will be weeks or months in advance — rather than knowing their patterns on the timescale of dozens of years — to predict disease outbursts in certain locations.

The group is also taking advantage of new emerging technologies including tracking animals with precise resolution and connecting these observations to satellite-based observations of the environment. Moreover, the group is looking into developing new methods on how to combine big data sets on biodiversity with satellite information and information on humans such as commute times and light exposure, according to Soto.

“The climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are all part of one problem,” Soto said. “It’s all related.”

The FINESST grant offered by NASA is intended for graduate students to perform research in topics including Earth science, planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics and biological or physical science.

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With a variety of scientists and experts housed on Yale’s campus, the Artemis missions are being seen on campus as progress, not only scientifically but also socially, with NASA planning to land the first person of color and the first woman on the moon. In addition to exploring the lunar surface, NASA hopes to establish a long-term base on the moon to use as a stepping stone for their next target: landing humans on Mars.

“The Artemis’ goal of putting people back on the moon would enable science, which has been limited since the Apollo program ended,” Juan Lora, an assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale, said.

The research conducted on Artemis missions could include an expansion of lunar seismology and the collection of new lunar samples for analysis on Earth, according to Lora. These discoveries would have implications for our understanding of the structure and geochemistry of the moon, and by implication, its connection to Earth, he said.

Returning to the moon may also lead to a better understanding of our solar system as a whole. According to Adriane Steinacker, senior lecturer in physics at Yale and former scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, it is possible that there are rocks on the moon that were initially dislodged from Venus, as outlined by Yale Astronomy graduate student Samuel Cabot. 

“Finding even just one of these rocks could tell us an enormous amount about Venus, and in particular, could pin down when it experienced the catastrophic greenhouse warming that turned it into the awful place that it is today,” Steinacker said.

With Artemis I, NASA is testing the Space Launch System that sends not only the rocket into space but also the Orion spacecraft, which will orbit the moon for just under a week before returning back to the Earth. 

Artemis II will be a crewed mission repeating a similar procedure, ensuring that the spacecraft is capable of hosting humans while traveling to the moon. 

Finally, Artemis III and future Artemis missions will bring crews to the moon, eventually establishing the Artemis Base Camp, as well as the Lunar Gateway which is the spaceship that will be in lunar orbit for crews to transfer between Orion and the lunar lander. 

According to Steinacker, Artemis I is only slightly more physically powerful than the rockets of the 1960s. In fact, the new SLS rocket that launches Artemis I is only about 17 percent more powerful than the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program. Rather, Artemis I is distinct from its predecessors in other ways.

“The biggest difference lies in computerization,” says Steinacker. “The instrumentation and flight control systems in the new spacecraft are enormously more capable than their counterparts from the first space race.”

The Space Launch System that sends Artemis I into space is currently the most powerful rocket in the world, according to NASA. SLS consists of two stages to provide the necessary thrust for Artemis I to overcome Earth’s gravity. 

The first stage has two main parts, according to Strathcona Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science & Applied Physics Mitchell Smooke. The first consists of two solid rocket boosters, delivering approximately 5.6 million pounds of thrust — compared to an average commercial plane’s tens of thousands of pounds. The second consists of four engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. According to NASA, SLS burns 735,000 gallons of propellant in eight minutes before being dropped off the rocket to eliminate the now-unnecessary weight. 

Afterwards, with Artemis I in a circular orbit around the Earth, another stage of SLS is fired to accelerate Artemis I to over 22,600 miles an hour, allowing it to overcome the Earth’s gravity and begin a trajectory towards the moon, nearly 240,000 miles away. 

In 2020, NASA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State and the National Space Council, created the Artemis Accords, an international agreement for peaceful and cooperative space exploration. As of now, 21 countries and one territory have signed the accords, including the United States, Japan, France and Australia, among others. The Artemis Accords partners also agree to release scientific data publicly in order to promote scientific collaboration and innovation.

While there is no longer any NASA-funded research at Yale that focuses on the Artemis propulsion system, there is research that considered electrospray propulsion, which could be used for thrusters.

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Mounted last spring above the dining hall’s entrance, the axe was created by Jacob Eldred ’24 with the help of Fred Kaplan, the neon-bender who runs Elm City Neon in Hamden, and Nick Bernardo, a machinist at the Yale SEAS machine shop in Mason Laboratory. 

“The first week of first year, I pointed up at a giant space on the wall and said to my parents, ‘I want to make a 10-foot tall neon battle axe and put it there,’” Eldred said. “The idea stayed in the back of my head for a few years.”

The project was completed with support from Morse administrators, and materials were funded by the Creative and Performing Arts Award. Physical support for the installation involved Operations and Planning, Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety and other groups, according to Morse Head of College Catherine Panter-Brick. 

The sign was mounted on the dining hall wall with the help of contractors hired by Yale. The structure holding the sign rigid was machined by Eldred in the SEAS machine shop, with the help of Bernardo. 

“When the axe was finally and safely mounted on the dining hall wall, everything came to light!” Panter-Brick said. “Jacob’s work has impressed all of us in the Morse community.”

Morse first year Adham Hussein ’26 was originally surprised to hear that a student built the statue, but called the axe “a big point of pride” for those in Morse. 

Hussein also mentioned how exciting it was that Yale allowed for such possibilities to explore hobbies and passions outside of academics. He added that the small size of Yale’s engineering department compared to others actually gave students more opportunities to pursue projects like this.

“When I found out it was made by a student as a project, I felt really inspired,” commented Hussein, “Especially since I also plan to go into mechanical engineering.”

Prior to constructing the axe, Eldred also made the trident displayed in the center of the Grace Hopper College dining hall. Eldred said a group of Hopper students devised the idea for the trident, inspired by Grace Hopper’s work as an US Navy rear admiral. 

The trident was also constructed entirely in the SEAS machine shop with Bernardo’s help. Made out of brass, the statue is 6-feet tall and weighs over 80 pounds.

“I really enjoyed getting to do both the art and the engineering design because I could make everything fit together at every level,” said Eldred of the two projects. “The structure could work with the visual design and nothing was left out of place.”

Morse College is located at 304 York St.

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However, Yale offers a wide range of resources for undergraduates to find the best possible fit. 

“I wish I had these opportunities when I was a Yale undergrad; we had nothing like this back in the ‘80s,” said Sandy Chang ’88, associate dean of STEM education and undergraduate research. “It is amazing that Yale has invested so much money into STEM opportunities for undergrads.”

Where do I find research opportunities?

The first place to start looking for labs and research groups is Yale’s Science and QR website, which lists summer fellowships, grant applications and resources for finding professors interested in taking on undergraduates. The site also includes a list of lab groups looking for undergraduates, both in biological science departments and in physical science departments, which includes brief descriptions of the projects each group is working on, as well as contact information. 

Department websites — like the chemistry, physics and astronomy websites — also often have a list of current research areas, with descriptions and affiliated faculty.  

The Yale Undergraduate Research Association is another useful resource. A student-run organization, its goal is to connect undergraduate students interested in research with mentors, resources and other undergraduate researchers. Their website provides, among other useful resources, a link to a database of nearly 300 different labs within Yale that could potentially accept undergraduates. 

“I found the Gilbert Lab by looking through the YURA database for molecular biochemistry labs and emailing a handful of [Principal Investigators] to set up interviews,” Anya AitSahlia ’25 said. “After a few meetings with my PI, Wendy Gilbert, to discuss potential research project ideas, I knew that I wanted to pursue summer research in the Gilbert Lab.”

How do I join a lab?

After identifying five to 10 possible lab groups of interest, Chang said, the next step is to email the PIs of the groups, mentioning your year, major and a resume — if you don’t yet have a resume, a brief description of possible relevant experience and coursework will suffice. 

According to Chang, the most important part of the email is to demonstrate that you have read some of the professor’s research  — including one or two of their previous papers — and that you understand the work that you’re hoping to become involved in. 

Furthermore, talking to other students involved in a particular lab group is a great way to learn more about the research itself, as well as the group’s dynamic, Chang explained. This can also help you demonstrate a better understanding of the lab when you reach out to a PI to express interest.

Lastly, if you are applying for a summer fellowship or any other funding grant, it is important to say so in the email. This way, the PI is aware of your plans and will be able to determine funding logistics, according to Chang.

For summer fellowships, Jessica Liu ’25 recommends the First-Year Summer Research Fellowship in the Sciences and Engineering.

“The first-year summer research fellowship is a fantastic way to get started doing research right from your first year with your classmates who are also doing research in really different and inspiring areas of STEM,” Liu said. “I am still conducting research in the same lab, and because I’ve dedicated time during the summer, I feel that we’re in a much better position to make progress in the project.”

I’m in a lab — now what?

Once you have joined a lab, start by attending the group meetings, where everyone from undergraduate students to graduate students to postdoctoral fellows will give a brief overview of their progress since the previous meeting. These meetings will help you become familiar with what the group is working on and which project you might like to contribute to in the future, as well as how people in the group work to collaborate with one another. 

Another important aspect of being in a lab is communicating with your research mentor.

“Make sure you have a good rapport with [your daily research mentor]; that person will be very important to your success in the lab,” Chang said.

Your daily research mentor will likely be different from your PI. While your PI is one of the leaders of the lab and may not have time to meet regularly with every undergraduate student, a daily research mentor is usually a graduate or postgraduate student who will guide you through your research and be your main source of information about anything lab-related, according to Chang. Depending on the group, either your daily research mentor or your PI — or in some cases, both — will help you in developing summer project proposals. 

Can I get paid for summer research?

Yale’s Science and QR department offers myriad fellowships and funding opportunities for students to perform research over the summer, both within and outside of Yale. These include opportunities specifically for first years and students from historically underrepresented groups, as well as a plethora of other options. 

“Previous research experience is not necessary to get these fellowships,” Chang said. “Especially for first-year summer fellowships and STARS Summer, we don’t look for anyone with previous research experience.”

Further Information

Chang and other Yale STEM professors also host a variety of workshops to help students find the right research opportunity, a list of which can be found on the Science and QR website. The next one, “How to Find the ‘Right’ Research Mentor,” will be hosted by Chang on Nov. 8 at 7:00 p.m. 

Chang has previously hosted sessions for students in which faculty looking for undergraduates present their research, with time for students to introduce themselves to professors they might be interested to work with. He is planning to host another of these sessions in January 2023, the specifics of which will soon be posted on the Science and QR website. 

Dean Chang has breakfast at Silliman on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, where students are welcome to drop by and ask questions.

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Comprised of four different subteams — sound, story, art and programming — the undergraduate student organization of game developers meets once a week and is currently working on developing two unique games: Bulldog Bash and Planet 112.

“I’ve always been fascinated with video games, like 먹튀, as a form of art, one that exploits interactivity and play to imagine new worlds, envision other futures and explore social and literary themes in a way unique to the medium,” said sound team lead Luc Ta ’25. 

One project — Bulldog Bash — is a video game based on the classic CAPCOM game Street Fighter, a multiplayer game in which two characters — typically played by two different people one the same computer or system — fight each other. Its twist? The game incorporates well-known Yale figures. 

Competitors can choose between playing as Yale President Peter Salovey or former Yale college Dean Marvin Chun. Amoriem Labs is in the process of adding more playable characters, according to Jacob Feit Mann ’24, one of the club’s co-presidents. 

Although not entirely finished, it is currently playable in its first released stage. 

Planet 112, another game the team is working on, addresses topics of climate change and environmental justice through “a post-apocalyptic lens,” according to Ta. 

The game starts with the player crash-landing on a planet where the atmosphere has been destroyed, and there isn’t enough oxygen to survive outside of a few key regions. The player’s first mission is to terraform different areas. 

The core mechanic of this game, according to Murtaza Javaid ’23, the club’s other co-president, is farming and resource management. 

“I’ve been playing games, similar to dolar138, since I was 6, and I’ve been into computers since I was 14, so game development seemed like a natural thing for me to explore,” said Javaid.

Javaid explained that Planet 112 is primarily a story-based game. The club’s story and game design team has been developing the plot behind this game for almost an entire year. 

The sound team has also been working hard, with the music playing at the boundaries between a grandiose, fantastical feel with a full orchestral palette and a more empty, open feel with more sparse instrumentation, according to Ta.

While there are many other games with similar core mechanics, the team is working hard to ensure that this game is unique. According to Javaid, the goal is to have a version of this game by the end of the year where, although not completely operational, the player understands the intention and basis of the game.

“We want to be a welcoming game developing community first and foremost,” said Javaid. 

Although the club doesn’t have many active members currently — approximately 15, according to Javaid — they are hoping to grow both in size and in community spirit. 

Amoriem Labs has plans for more social events this semester, such as game nights. Furthermore, they hope to have more interactions between the different subteams, as multiple club members have noted that the different departments have felt fairly separate in the past year.

Moreover, the organization is hoping to branch out into new directions of game development. Nick He ’25, a member of the club’s programming department, has been leading workshops for the club members in Unity, a game development tool. With this new transition, they could begin to develop virtual reality, like those featured on VR Today Magazine, and 3d games in the future, according to He. Additionally, using Unity proves beneficial when recruiting new members, as many of those who have prior experience in game development have used Unity in the past. 

“Even though we are a 2D game club for now, through step-by-step evolution and development, who says we can’t create big studio multiplayer games,” He said. 

Amoriem Labs meets Sundays 2-5 p.m. in DL 120.

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The viewing coincided with the brightest magnitude Jupiter has been seen in the past 59 years. Around 60 people came to look through the six-inch and eight-inch diameter telescopes to view targets such as Saturn and the double star Albireo, the second brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.

“I love getting questions and seeing people really interested in astronomy on public nights,” said Julia Levy ’25, an observing assistant at Leitner. “Asking people questions and socializing is truly the best part of the experience.”

Levy explained that her main job at the observatory during public nights consists of helping to set up the telescopes and focusing them on targets throughout the night. In addition to looking at Jupiter, she also set the telescopes up to look at the double star Albireo. 

Jupiter was especially bright this week due to it being in opposition — meaning that it is opposite from the Sun in the sky — putting Earth directly between Jupiter and the Sun. This positioning in itself is not rare, occurring once every 399 days, according to Michael Faison, the director of Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium. 

The reason why Jupiter was the brightest this week since it has been in 1963, however, is because it was close to its perihelion point — when it is closest to the sun in orbit — making it slightly brighter than it otherwise would be when in opposition.

“It’s kind of like the supermoon,” Faison said. “It gets hyped up, but it doesn’t look that different than it usually does. It’s just that the full moon always looks amazing, and so when people make a point to go look at it, they are amazed.”

Faison runs and maintains the observatory and planetarium, as well as teaching classes there. He also runs two major outreach programs from it: the Tuesday public night viewings and the Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics for high school students. He noted that he is also hoping to launch a summer camp for middle school students in the New Haven area on astronomy and space science. 

Faison said that he hoped to open the planetarium theater again this semester to the public and do public shows. The observatory and planetarium were both closed starting March 2020 due to the pandemic. Although the observatory reopened for public observation in 2021, the planetarium is still closed to the public.

He mentioned that he also plans to host special events like public lectures and movie nights in the observatory and planetarium, as well as work on a tutorial series for Github and Youtube on “Budget Astrophysics” where he will teach projects to the general public.

“Seeing Albireo in its full beauty and Jupiter’s four bright Galilean moons just absolutely consolidated my love of the subject,” said Robin Tsai ’26. “I wouldn’t fall short of calling it personally transformative.” 

Unfortunately, Levy mentioned, Jupiter was somewhat hazy this week due to atmospheric disturbances and city lights. Moreover, the telescope wasn’t focused on just Jupiter, but also its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. 

Levy said that originally the telescopes were focused on Saturn because it was low and bright — the optimal condition for viewing at the beginning of the night. However, she still said that this Tuesday “really was the best” she’s ever seen Jupiter.

The observatory will host public nights every Tuesday this semester from 8 to 9:30 p.m., weather permitting.

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