Carnegie Mellon University

Scholar Class of 2009-2010

Eric Barndollar

Eric W. Barndollar

Music Composition & Computer Science with Music Technology & Conducting Minors, Scholar Class of 2009-2010

Bio

"This university offers a unique opportunity to pursue personal and professional interests across a wide range of disciplines.  As someone who has benefited tremendously from this during my first four years at Carnegie Mellon, I look forward to using my fifth year to further broaden my educational experiences and to leave behind a resource that allows future students to benefit from my unique perspective."

Eric W. Barndollar completed his fourth year at Carnegie Mellon, working on a dual degree in Music Composition and Computer Science with minors in Music Technology and Conducting.  This background yielded many unique opportunities, such as the Argho Project - a use of technology to develop a universal instrument that allows performance in musical styles from all over the world.  Eric also composed music for student-developed video games as a part of the Game Creation Society, represented the campus community as a member of the Computing Services Student Advisory Committee, performed as a part of the Carnegie Mellon Concert Choir, and served as student conductor for the 2008-2009 season of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.  With his community impact project, he combined his fields of study to produce a computer resource that helps instructors teach harmony more efficiently to students that come into music theory courses with a wide variety of backgrounds.  He was tremendously interested in technology-enriched education and hoped this project could provide a platform to enhance future courses in the music school and all across campus.

Bradley Hall

Bradley Hall

Mechanical Engineering with an Industrial Design Minor, Scholar Class of 2009-2010

Bio

"I was taught that education should be the one constant throughout life - that it's something that can never be taken away from you.  In that sense, whenever you have the opportunity to gain education, you should take it, no matter how random the information at the time, there may come a time when that information proves its worth.  To me, the fifth year scholars program embodies that desire, to learn something outside the norm, and to never stop."

Bradely Hall was a senior in Mechanical Engineering who completed a minor in Industrial Design during his fifth year.  As well as being involved within his major through the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, MechE Student Advisory Council, and Robotics Club, Brad also dedicated himself to Student Life through his work as an RA and CA, as well as involved himself in community outreach programs.  Brad's project focused on the collaboration between his major, extracurricular experience, and personal passions by providing engineering challenges to undergraduates to reduce energy usage on campus and improve living standards worldwide.  This manifested through a university energy challenge to be completed by undergraduates and the formation of Engineers Without Borders - a national organization aimed at providing engineering solutions to developing nations.  EWB-CMU will be working on an engineering service project located in Ecuador with the help of the EWB Pittsburgh Professional Chapter.

Ryan Woodring

Ryan Woodring

Fine Art with Frech & Franophone Studies Minors, Scholar Class of 2009-2010

Bio

"I'm hoping to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to simply learn for the sake of learning."

Ryan completed his Fine Art degree and French and Francophone Studies minor, leaving his fifth year open to study an entirely new set of studies.  Ryan planted many performances around the campus the past few years such as two at Lunar Gala (beat boxing and designing), the play he directed at the Frame and his band's performance at the Beaux Arts Ball.  Off campus, he has been spotted both making and supporting the making of objects and films in places such as Braddock, downtown, the Mattress Factory and the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Ryan's fifth year community impact project was to host a national student film festival at Carnegie Mellon in affiliation with the CMU Film Making Club.  He also shared the methods of video production with a local high school.  Ryan was heavily involved with Orientation 2009.  During his fifth year, he was seen performing his musical act, filming his surroundings and riding around campus on his trick bike that he cannot do any tricks on - going from one lecture to the next.