{"id":6609,"date":"2015-06-16T19:05:12","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T19:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=6609&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-06-29T13:48:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T13:48:12","slug":"opening-doors-julliard","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/opening-doors-julliard\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Doors at Juilliard"},"content":{"rendered":"
Summer 2015<\/em>\u00a0| By Jim Abbott<\/em><\/p>\n [lead]At the Juilliard School in New York, the search for open rehearsal spaces has been a constant problem at a campus where aspiring actors, musicians and dancers outnumber available practice rooms by almost 7 to 1. Many students and teachers had conceded that the issue might be impossible to resolve, but that didn\u2019t stop operations manager Adam Gagan, \u201912<\/strong>.[\/lead]<\/p>\n Using skills he gained through his M.S. in industrial engineering, Gagan devised an online reservations system that streamlines how students find open practice rooms on campus in real time.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my bosses told me not to waste too much energy on it,\u201d says Gagan, who started working at Juilliard in May 2014. \u201c[My boss said], \u2018This is a problem that we\u2019ve had for years at this school.\u2019 But I was fixated on it.\u201d<\/p>\n To understand the situation, Gagan met with Juilliard\u2019s Student Council and student focus groups, faculty members and administrators. He researched the reasons that a short-lived, paper-based reservations system had failed in the face of complicated student rehearsal needs.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot give these students a time limit,\u201d Gagan says. \u201cYou can practice piano for up to six hours. With a wind instrument, two hours is usually the maximum. Also, students have preferences for certain rooms. Voice students, for instance, can\u2019t be in a room with curtains.\u201d<\/p>\n [photo id=”6873″ title=”For The Julliard School, Adam Gagan developed an electronic reservation system” alt=”For The Julliard School, Adam Gagan developed an electronic reservation system” position=”left” width=”450px”]To solve a nagging access problem, Adam Gagan, \u201912<\/strong>, developed an electronic reservation system for the famed New York performing arts school.[\/photo]<\/p>\n Gagan\u2019s solution was an online system that allows students to see what practice rooms are available, sign up for them at centrally located kiosks, and, once in a room, take short breaks without forfeiting the space. Students can also check room availability on their cellphones with a companion app. A pilot program successfully tested the system in 10 of Juilliard\u2019s 90 practice rooms this past spring, and the system is expected to be fully operational by fall.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing immediately if there are any rooms available and which ones are available is so great,\u201d says Juliann Ma, who is finishing a master\u2019s degree in piano. \u201cPlus, if you\u2019re in rehearsals with multiple people, you can immediately notify them.\u201d<\/p>\n For Gagan, whose passions for engineering and acting had once been competing interests to be indulged separately, the reservation system represents the connection between science and the arts that he envisioned when he arrived at Juilliard.<\/p>\n \u201cIndustrial engineering is about making things more efficient, consolidating things,\u201d he says. \u201cI knew I wanted to pull my interests together, but I didn\u2019t know how. I figured out a way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n (According to Adam Gagan, ’12)<\/span><\/p>\n [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n Photos by Geoff Levy, \u201913<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6724,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[148],"class_list":["post-6609","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","issues-520","issues-summer-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Solve a Problem Like an Engineer<\/h2>\n
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