Published: Dec. 10, 2019

Twelve members of the December 2019 graduating TAM class.The ATLAS InstituteÌýpasses a milestone todayÌýwhen the 100th student receives aÌýbachelor's degreeÌýin Technology, Arts & Media (TAM), the institute's undergraduate engineering major.ÌýIn all,Ìýthe institute confers 23 bachelor's degrees today, which will bring the total to 120.

TAM's bachelor's program has grown to more than 260 students since its launch in 2015. ItÌýgrew from the institute’s popular TAM minor and certificate programs, launched in the late 1990s, which allowÌýany studentÌýon campus to augment their major with a valuable collection of design and codingÌýskills. Approximately 750 students are currently enrolled inÌýeither the minor or certificate programs. To pursue the TAM major, students are first admitted to the College of Engineering &ÌýAppliedÌýScience.

The institute'sÌýgraduate program now includes 57 students, 17 of whom are pursuing a PhD. And across the institute'sÌýstudent community, more than 50 percent are women—a remarkable number for academic programs in engineering, says Mark Gross, the institute's director.Ìý

"Diversity is fundamental to our vision at ATLAS—a diverse community supports diverse thinking, and that's the currency we deal in," he said.

Graduating senior Isaac Sheets graduatesÌýCum Laude with a BS in TAM today.

Isaac Sheets

Isaac Sheets

He says he originally enrolledÌýas an engineering open-option major, but quickly switched to TAM after touring ATLAS during ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Boulder's Admitted StudentÌýDay.
Ìý

"I declared my major as TAM at my first opportunity," Sheets said.Ìý"I was intrigued by the program's interdisciplinary nature. It seemedÌýlike most other majors were highly specialized,Ìýwhereas TAMÌýleft room for individuality and exploration."

Sheets said he gained a solid technical base through TAM, including front-end development experience for web and mobile platforms. He also said heÌýgained a good understanding of tools and processes that contribute to the look and feel of applications, such asÌýsound and interface design, as well asÌýaÌýbackground in related fields, includingÌýphysical computing and computer-aided design/fabrication. His favorite classes included Mobile Application Development and Front-End Web Development, bothÌýwith Senior Instructor and AssociateÌýDirector of the TAM programÌýAileen Pierce, and several courses taught by InstructorÌýDanny Rankin, including TEXT, Interface Aesthetics, and the Capstone sequence.

"I had a great time in TAM," he said.Ìý"Most classes are actually fun,Ìýand I like how there aren't too many lecture-based classes. They're usually smaller and more interactive than many classes in the college."Ìý

Sheets says he's most proud of hisÌýCapstone project, a web app that gamifies Twitter by transforming the user's timeline into a series of word games.

Graduate degrees
ATLAS also confers fourÌýMaster of Science degrees today, including threeÌýfrom the Information & Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) track.ÌýCarolyn Moreau,ÌýBabatunde AdegokeÌýand Gena Welk all focused on ICTD, whileÌýAnnie Kelly's work focused on research.Ìý

Babatunde Adegoke

Babatunde Adegoke

For his practicum, Adegoke sought to buildÌýthe capacity of small businesses in his home country of Nigeria, workingÌýwith a Nigerian consulting company that providesÌýonlineÌýbusiness courses. "TeachingÌýbusiness owners how toÌýgrow their businesses could result in their hiringÌýmoreÌýemployees and thus reduce the country's unemployment problem," AdegokeÌýsaid.ÌýIn Nigeria, most businesses are one-person operations.

"To move a businessÌýfrom one person to 10 people, you need to build the skills of that person," Adegoke said. "The biggest issue in Nigeria is knowledge.ÌýPeople in business don’t have the knowledge of business development."

Adegoke said his practicum experienceÌýwas gratifying.

"When I finished developing the platform, some business professionals tested it, and I receivedÌýgood feedback," he said. "The ICTD programÌýbrought in a perspective about life. I was able to learn why technology sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t work, and I was able to learn how to design technologyÌýthat works for more people."