GWSB Undergrad News

February 14, 2008

The 2008 BADM 064 Competition
By: Professor Mary Granger and Adjunct Professor Steven Mandlebaum

On Friday, February 1, 2008 six student teams, the best in each of six sections of BADM 064, presented their final projects from Fall 2007. Outside judges included David Vargas of Vargas Advanced Technologies Group, Inc. and Joseph Jozefczyk from the Association of Government Accountants. They had a difficult time selecting the best of the best.

Student teams are challenged to identify a business problem and solve it uniquely by applying information technology. Teams are evaluated based on their research, analysis and thorough understanding of the business problem and environment in which it occurs, appropriate use of information and technology to solve the problem, impact and return on investment, and comprehensiveness of the solution. This will be the third school-wide competition. Now in its 4th year, over 850 GW students have developed over 245 innovative solutions, with another 70 currently underway this spring.

“We are very proud of the students in our MIS classes and especially pleased to showcase the finalists who were among the most innovative problems and solutions,” said Steven Mandelbaum, the professor who developed and runs the competition. “Each year we see our students develop so many new and creative solutions. This represents both the number of organizations and diversity of industries and problems that can benefit from our student’s skills in applying their knowledge of information technology.”

First place in the competition is awarded to:
Online Scheduling Web Application
Presented by Richard Birenbaum, Stephanie Moser, Stephen Rutgers and Evan Katz
This team studied the difficulties and frustrations that come with the college registration process. Often times, students will spend hours on end trying to and compile one or more schedules consisting of the classes they need to take and would like to take. Their solution is designed to aid the process of compiling different possible schedules through a web-based application.

Second place is awarded to:
Green Lighting at GW
Presented by Neer Rao, Jarrad Hubbard and Ari Menase
This team investigated the hundreds of dollars that are being wasted every month on unnecessarily high levels of energy consumption at GW. Their solution consisted of Smart Occupancy Sensors powered by modern cutting edge micro-controllers with sophisticated features such as the ability to self-adjust to occupancy data, reducing the inconsistency that arises from varied and fluctuating human usage of areas of interest.

Spring 2008 Finalist Teams:

A Fitting Upgrade
Presented by Steven Aveni, Gia Jacobs and Kristen Langstine
This team tackled the problem in retail stores of lost sales due to insufficient availability of sizes and styles in inventory and on the store floor. Their solution consisted of a touchpad and bar code scanner installed in individual customer fitting rooms where customers can request different sizes or colors. If the inventory is not in stock customers can order it directly through the internet on the touchpad.

Advanced Fire Alert System
Presented by John DePaul, Lee Bernstein, Jon Steller and Brett Stapler
This team explored the life threatening problem of fire alarm systems merely indicating to individuals that a fire is present rather than assisting individuals with how to best escape. To solve this, the team designed a system that uses lights planted in the ground and in exit signs which indicate the location of the fire and the best way of escape.

An IT Overhaul of WOW Wingery
Presented by Emma Kruger, Josh Cohan, Carmel Friedman and Jordan Balkin
This team considered WOW Wingery, an eatery in GW’s Marvin Student Center, which has a bad reputation because service is slow and customers often receive the wrong orders. They developed a three part solution consisting of a beeper system, touch-screen kitchen monitors and new software.

Concession Stands of the Future: Yankee Stadium
Presented by: Cindy Plotts, Tian (Roy) Qin, Kristi Gartmayer and Lawrence Hu This team studied the problem of long lines at the concession stands in Yankee Stadium. They proposed a solution that involves implementing a kiosk system that records the orders of customers. The orders are then processed and the food itself will be delivered to the fans in their seats, thus decreasing their waiting time in lines and increasing their satisfaction.



Professor Matta takes Crawford to Africa, Hard Rock, and Back!
By Professor Marie E. Matta

On February 9, 2008, serving as Faculty Guide, Professor Marie Matta led 14 freshmen residents from the Crawford Business & Entrepreneurial House to an IMAX film at the National Museum of Natural History featuring lions of the African Kalahari. Students were transported to the African plains as they sat back and watched “LIONS: Roar of the Kalahari” in magical 3D. The dramatic images will certainly be an unforgettable Crawford experience.

After the movie, students were able to discuss their adventure with a wild trip of their own to D.C.’s Hard Rock Café.

The following were in attendance: Matthew Tanico, Ashley Kowalski, Jessica Dholakia, Molly Eames, Kimberly Whitiak, Elizabeth Murphy, Jamarie Copestick, Meredith Hurley, Nicole Welsh, Franklin Clyburn, Ali Saadat, David Glidden, Aaron Fouladian, Angelica Sabintsev, and Professor Marie Matta.

GWSB Undergrad News is a weekly publication of the Office of Undergraduate Programs.

The deadline for submissions is Monday at noon. Send information to upnews@gwu.edu