Drop in at the Law Library Lab anytime during this hour to ask any and all research questions, for long papers or otherwise.This session is hosted by Adam Mackie.

This thesis focused on developing a Swift UI iOS application with an embedded large language model and retrieval-augmented generation for branded food category classification and contextualized explanations for food additives.

Abstract:Consumer concerns about food additives have intensified amid widespread misinformation, with the 2024 IFIC survey revealing that 35% of consumers actively avoid artificial ingredients despite authoritative safety data existing in FDA and USDA databases. This thesis presents Food Additive Lens (FAL), an iOS application that bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and consumer understanding through on-device artificial intelligence. FAL implements a three-agent architecture comprising: (1) a food category classifier achieving 87.2% top-3 accuracy across 257 categories, (2) a hybrid additive identifier combining database lookup with AI extraction (F1-score: 0.757), and (3) an explanation generator producing contextualized, consumer-friendly descriptions. The system deploys Meta's Llama 3.2 3B model quantized to 1.8GB through 4-bit compression, achieving 13-30 tokens/second generation speed while operating entirely offline. Integration of FDA's Substances Added to Food Inventory (3,971 substances) and USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database enables comprehensive coverage with direct Code of Federal Regulations links for professional users. The Retrieval-Augmented Generation workflow grounds AI responses in authoritative sources, reducing hallucination while maintaining accessibility. Performance evaluation on iPhone 14 and MacBook Air M1 demonstrated stable memory usage (peak 2.36GB) with complete offline functionality, ensuring user privacy. The application transforms complex ingredient lists into accessible information through camera-based OCR scanning, progressive disclosure interfaces, and context-aware explanations tailored to specific food products. This work demonstrates the feasibility of deploying sophisticated AI for science communication on consumer devices, offering a scalable model for combating food-related misinformation while preserving privacy and accessibility.

The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the global average, leading to increased vulnerabilities such as accelerated terrestrial and coastal erosion, significant threats to infrastructure, and the destabilization of its vast carbon soil reservoir. In this seminar, the speaker will discuss how satellite imagery and artificial intelligence can be leveraged to deepen our understanding of climate change, repercussions on Arctic permafrost landscapes, and communities.Witharana Chandi, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Eversource Energy Center, UConn

The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the global average, leading to increased vulnerabilities such as accelerated terrestrial and coastal erosion, significant threats to infrastructure, and the destabilization of its vast carbon soil reservoir. In this seminar, the speaker will discuss how satellite imagery and artificial intelligence can be leveraged to deepen our understanding of climate change, repercussions on Arctic permafrost landscapes, and communities.Witharana Chandi, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Eversource Energy Center, UConn

Students who may benefit from attending a Let's Talk: Mental Health Office Hours session include:Students who want help connecting to resources but are unsure where to begin Students who are looking for advice on a non-clinical issue Students who are unsure about therapy and are curious about what it is like to talk to a therapist Students who may have concerns about the mental health of a friend and seek advice on how to support their friend If a student is not an imminent risk, and is refusing your support in contacting our office, you may also consider contacting the UConn Student CARE Team (https://studentcareteam.uconn.edu/). This session is held by Graciela Quinones-Rodriguez, LCSW (https://studenthealth.uconn.edu/person/graciela-quinones-rodriguez/)

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

Interpersonal Group for Graduate Students Graduate Students Interpersonal Groups focuses on promoting emotional wellbeing as you balance academics, relationships, family, and personal responsibilities. Groups offer a supportive confidential space to share your concerns, practice skills and get feedback.To join this group therapy session, please call SHaW at 860-486-4700 (tel:+18604864705) This session is held by Carlos- Gonzalez- Martinez, LCSW (https://studenthealth.uconn.edu/person/carlos-gonzalez-martinez/) For many concerns that students face – like overwhelming stress, anxiety, difficult relationships, depression, academic difficulties, and more – group therapy is the best option for support and healing. Facilitated by Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) counselors, our therapy groups encourage peer support, promote emotional wellbeing, and increase a felt sense of connection. Participants often find that they feel less alone in their struggles, and walk away with newfound support and ideas for coping.

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

Master Algebra with us! Join our Algebra Workshop Series this fall at CASE (Room 260) from 3:30–4:30 P.M. Each session will break down key algebra concepts to help you build confidence and sharpen your skills. 📅 Upcoming Sessions: Inequalities – Wed. Nov 5 Quadratic Equations – Wed. Nov 19 📍 CASE (Room 260) Don't miss the chance to level up your math game!

Interpersonal Group for Undergraduate Students Undergraduate Students Interpersonal Groups focuses on promoting emotional wellbeing as you balance academics, relationships, family, and personal responsibilities. Groups offer a supportive confidential space to share your concerns, practice skills and get feedback. To join this group therapy session, please call SHaW at 860-486-4700 (tel:860-486-4705). This session is held by Maritza Lugo-Stalker, (https://studenthealth.uconn.edu/person/maritza-lugo-stalker/) For many concerns that students face – like overwhelming stress, anxiety, difficult relationships, depression, academic difficulties, and more – group therapy is the best option for support and healing. Facilitated by Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) counselors, our therapy groups encourage peer support, promote emotional wellbeing, and increase a felt sense of connection. Participants often find that they feel less alone in their struggles, and walk away with newfound support and ideas for coping.

Compared to the last three decades, people today spend more of their lives caring for elderly parents or ill spouses than ever before, due to longer lifespans, advancements in medical technology, and an increasing number of disabled adults. Most academic and policy discussions of these trends focus on the challenges this creates for the "sandwich generation," caregivers who balance employment with care for children and aging parents. Yet 34% of older adults also care for others, including spouses, grandchildren, and parents (AARP 2015). In this talk, I present narratives of aging and care from an ethnography set in Northeast Connecticut. Centering the role of race, class, and gender-based negotiations, I discuss how older adults approach later life, especially in situations where they are expected to care for others alongside their own aging needs. I also highlight the value of rights-informed perspectives in studying later life and discuss how class status, social supports, and life-course developments complicate our understanding of economic disadvantage.Asmita Aasaavari is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at UConn. In her research, she uses interdisciplinary methods and sociological lenses to shed light on how aging and the social organization of care intersect with systems of inequality such as race, class, gender, and disability. Her research and teaching have been recognized and funded by the American Sociological Association, Social and Economic Rights Association, The Hastings Center, UConn Human Rights Institute, among others. Professionally, beyond academia, Asmita has worked with social science research institutions in India and the US in the fields of aging, gender, education, poverty alleviation, politics, and volunteered with rights-based social movements.Chris Vials is a Professor in English and the School of Social and Critical Inquiry at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of Haunted by Hitler: Liberals, the Left, and the Fight against Fascism in the United States (2014) and Realism for the Masses: Aesthetics, Popular Front Pluralism, and US Culture, 1935-1947 (2009). He is also the editor, with Bill Mullen, of The US Antifascism Reader, published by Verso Press in 2020, and the sole editor of American Literature in Transition: 1940-1950 (Cambridge, 2017). Access note If you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact us at uchi@uconn.edu (mailto:uchi@uconn.edu) or by phone (860) 486-9057. We can request ASL interpretation, computer-assisted real time transcription, and other accommodations offered by the Center for Students with Disabilities. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance whenever possible

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

English workshops are available for 10-weeks in the Fall and Spring semesters. These workshops can be used to improve the communication skills needed to meet the university's English requirement for teaching undergraduate students (TA's) These workshops will help participants develop the speaking skills needed to convey their ideas clearly when presenting in front of an audience. Students will practice presenting information relevant to their field of study and be actively involved in self-assessment and peer assessment. Content will be adapted to suit the group's needs. Conversation partners will join the last hour of class to provide opportunities for practice, feedback, and questions. Registration for the workshop series is highly recommended to guarantee a seat. Who can register? UConn undergraduates, graduates, J1 scholars, J2, F2, exchange students (EGL).https://ita.uconn.edu/english-support/ (https://ita.uconn.edu/english-support/) 

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).

For the full class schedule, descriptions, and to register, please visit the UConn Recreation website (https://recreation.uconn.edu/group-fitness-schedule/).