Congratulations to Bradley Wachter and Michael MacConnell on being named Mary Gates Scholars

 

Michael and Bradley, both undergraduate researchers in the Ability and Innovation Lab, have individually earned the title of Mary Gates Scholars. The Mary Gates Research Scholarship is highly competitive and allows students to focus more attention and time on their research projects while being supported financially for two quarters. Michael will continue working on the ankle foot orthosis (AFO) project which utilizes motion tracking, ultrasound, and finite element analysis to find the optimal stiffness. Bradley will be developing a low-cost, open source orthosis to improve mobility for individuals with impaired hand function.  Congratulations to you both!


Michael_non squareBradley

 

 

Upcoming Webinars for Graduate Students and Academics

SWE

Join us for the following AccessEngineering Webinars! If you would like to attend one or more, please register for the respective topic by following the link provided. (Please note, all of the webinars are scheduled in Eastern Daylight Time)

 

Choosing and Delivering a High Quality Online Program
Friday, Dec 4th, 2015 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This webinar will focus on three aspects of distance education: (1) how Kettering University Online develops high quality online programs; (2) how can students choose a high quality online program to enroll; and (3) how can potential instructors find a high quality institution to teach. There will be presentations and Q&A sessions about each aspect.

Presenter: Dr. Christine Wallace

Register for this Webinar


 

AccessEngineering: Strategies to support individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in engineering – Part 1
Monday, December 7th, 2015 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This webinar focuses on a new NSF initiative, AccessEngineering, which (1) supports and promotes individuals with disabilities in pursuing engineering, and (2) integrates universal design and accessibility topics into the engineering curriculum. In particular, this webinar will discuss topics including communication tips and how you can best support individuals with disabilities in engineering, and best practices for making makerspaces, labs and machine shops accessible.

Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler, Richard Ladner, Maya Cakmak, Kat Steele, Brianna Blaser

Register for this Webinar

 


Patents: An Introduction for Inventors, Part One
Friday, December 11th, 2015 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This presentation series is a basic introduction to patents and an overview of issues and practices to be considered by prospective patent inventors and patent owners. Part One focuses on providing a basic overview of patents and need-to-know information for inventors to streamline the patenting process. The basic overview explains what patents are, how patents relate to other forms of intellectual property, what requirements must be met for patenting an invention in the U.S., basic considerations for patenting an invention internationally, and how patents provide value to their owners. The overview of information for inventors covers inventorship and ownership issues, when to file for a patent, how to avoid sinking a patent application with one’s own publications, and various good practices for inventors to follow regarding disclosures and record-keeping.

Presenter: Michael Gamble

Register for this Webinar


 

AccessEngineering: Strategies to support individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in engineering – Part 2
Tuesday, January 19th, 2016 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (EDT)

About the Webinar:
This webinar focuses on a new NSF initiative, AccessEngineering, which (1) supports and promotes individuals with disabilities in pursuing engineering, and (2) integrates universal design and accessibility topics into the engineering curriculum. In particular, this webinar will discuss topics including communication tips and how you can best support individuals with disabilities in engineering, and best practices for making makerspaces, labs and machine shops accessible. Part 2 of this webinar series will focus on strategies for easily integrating universal design and accessibility topics into engineering education.

Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler, Richard Ladner, Maya Cakmak, Kat Steele

Register for this Webinar

How to Create a Makerspace – Campus Technology

Campus Technology, an online information source for higher education, features an interview with our own Dr. Steele about how to create a Makerspace. Find out what a Makerspace is, why they are created, and what kind of space is important. Here is a quote of Dr. Steele’s pulled from the article by Leila Meyer. Click HERE to read the article in full.

Having an outlet where you can work with teams, find people with different backgrounds and use this space to turn ideas into reality is really powerful for the students, as both an educational space to complement their courses and a space where they can really dive deep and figure out what their passions are and what they want to create for the world.”

 

Make it Universal

AccessEngineering and Dr. Steele’s recent work on creating guidelines for making makerspaces accessible was featured in the School Library Journal. It is a great resource, featuring different DIY and makerspace movements that support individuals with disabilities around the US. In particular, check out some of theAccessEngineering and DO-IT summer students explore the CoMotion makerspace. great work on how toys can be easily hacked for individuals with disabilities from John Schimmel and Holly Cohen, cofounders of DIYAbility, .

You can read the full article here:

Make It Universal