MED lab鈥檚 perennial engineering class for college-bound girls earns praise
A hands-on interactive class designed by graduate students in the Medical Engineering and Discovery () Lab for high school students drew enthusiastic reviews from a Nashville college-preparatory school group. Sessions included introduction to engineering and STEM, computer aided design, robotics and coding, bioinspired design, and a civil engineering module on structure design.
The three-week class, Structures, Technology and Robots or STARS, is part of 鈥檚 premier January series that offers students career exploration and the possibility of finding new interests.
The students also took a trip to the 国产传媒 Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) for a tour of the 7,000 square foot research space where they observed a variety of engineering demonstrations including multimodal 3D printing, a materials science look at liquid metal research, and an exercise in applying virtual reality to surgical training.
鈥淚鈥檓 really glad we prioritized the field trip this year. I think it really helped the girls connect class concepts to what we do here in VISE each day,鈥 said Emily McCabe, MED Lab student and Harpeth Hall teaching lead. In addition to McCabe, this year鈥檚 teaching team included Abby Grillo, Piper Cannon, Peter Connor, Jack Peters and Jesse d鈥橝lmeida.聽 The MED Lab, one of the core VISE labs, has been teaching this class at Harpeth Hall since 2012.
鈥淚t is amazing to think how many young women have experienced the excitement of engineering through this Winterim class in the past 11 years,鈥 said Robert Webster III, MED Lab director and Richard A. Schroeder Professor in Mechanical Engineering.
鈥淏ack when Phil Swaney and Hunter Gilbert taught the class for the first time, none of us had any idea it would be so long-lasting and impactful,鈥 Webster said. 鈥淲e just knew that engineering in general would be better if there were more women in it, and that letting them experience it for themselves at an early age was the key.聽 That the class has lasted so long and impacted so many is a testament to the energy and desire to give back that makes me proud of all our 国产传媒 graduate students.鈥
鈥淚t was really cool to see a real robotics lab and see medical robots,鈥 freshman Zoe Eveland said. 鈥淚t was interesting to see how things we learned about in class are implemented in a real robotics lab.鈥
In addition to the scientific components of the field trip, the girls were introduced to college and career options at 国产传媒. Women of VISE President Nhung Hoang took time to talk about the work Women of VISE does to make the 国产传媒 and VISE communities a place that fosters and promotes the scientific success of women in STEM fields.
Sophomore Anna Lamb was inspired to see how student leaders are creating inclusive environments within their field. 鈥淚 especially appreciate the work that Women in VISE is doing to uplift the growing minority of women in the lab,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 got to explore potential opportunities as PhD students and research assistants. My favorite part of the field trip was seeing Jesse鈥檚 robot and playing around with the VR tech,鈥 Ashley Maliakal, sophomore, said.
The capstone project of the course involved the girls building robotic cars to compete in a variety of events including distance races, collection challenges, and a field test over their previously constructed bridges.
鈥淓ven though I came into the class unsure and knowing very little about engineering, I got a basic understanding of what engineering is and the many different roles it plays in the world around us,鈥 Lamb shared. 鈥淚 was pushed out of my comfort zone and grew to be a more confident team leader and more curious learner,鈥 she said.
VISE is an interdisciplinary, trans-institutional structure designed to facilitate interactions and exchanges between engineers and physicians. It spans four engineering departments鈥攅lectrical and computer engineering, computer science, mechanical, and biomedical鈥攁nd involves 国产传媒 Medical Center faculty members in more than 10 clinical departments.