VaNTH

1

• VaNTH
• Student Leadership Council
• Overview of Year III Activities
• June 13, 2002

2
Order of Presentation

• SLC Responsibilities
• SLC Project Accomplishments
• Future Plans
• SLC Student Survey
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats
• Suggestions

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SLC Responsibilities
VU

• Disseminate bioengineering awareness and
  knowledge to underrepresented groups, local
  communities, as well as pre-college and
  postsecondary students and teachers via outreach
  projects
• Provide an interdisciplinary forum for students
  to discuss VaNTH ERC outreach, inreach, and
  research projects
• Connect SLC students to one another via periodic
  communication between sites

UT
HST
NU
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VaNTH-wide SLC Projects

• What is BME?
• Targets college-bound high school juniors
  seniors or college freshmen with interests in
  engineering, health sciences, BME, or a
  related-field
• Increases students understanding of BME-related
  work, increases student matriculation into BME
  fields, informs and excites students about BME-
  related work
• Website, CD-ROM/DVD that explores the
  applicability of BME to Education, Business, Law,
  Medicine, and Government

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VaNTH-wide Projects

• San Antonio Workshop- Burbank High School
• 8 VaNTH participants 15 public middle and high
  school teachers
• Introduced teachers to an inquiry based
  instructional planning tool (Legacy Cycle)
• Provided teachers with web-based resources on
  bioengineering to enhance academic science
  instruction
• Provided teachers with opportunities to develop
  and share inquiry-based science/engineering
  lessons
• Provided teachers with information on how people
  learn and implications for assessment and
  evaluation

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Site-Specific SLC Projects

• Helped VU RET high school teacher Stacy Klein
  implement an ECG module in her Biomedical
  Engineering Laboratory class
• Presented VaNTH ERC to fifteen Fisk University
  Biology undergraduates about opportunities in
  Bioengineering and recruited two students into
  2002 REU summer program
• Collaborated with VU BMES in the development of
  interactive exhibits for the Cumberland Science
  Museum in Nashville, TN (84,000 students and
  teachers each year)

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Cumberland Science Museum Exhibits

• Bioreactor Exhibit- Building a Protein Bar
• Introduce four types of bioreactors protein
  development in a bioreactor
• Compare and contrast the effects of too much or
  too little protein in the human body
• Develop an interactive arm wrestling model and
  video
• Iron Cross Exhibit- Looking at Muscle Strength
• Introduce concepts of gravity, balance, muscles,
  and strength
• Examine the effects of changes in muscle force
  upon maintaining balance using gymnastics iron
  cross

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Site-Specific SLC Projects

• Initiated an Ethics Working Group at MIT to
  discuss issues of human research subjects.
• Continued development of Spacercise high school
  outreach curriculum, using the Legacy Cycle as a
  model for teaching microgravity physiology and
  engineering design.
• Hosted local What is BME? lecture series to
  explore various entry points to the field.

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Spacercise

• Jointly supported by the VaNTH Engineering
  Research Center and the National Space Biomedical
  Research Institute
• Collaborating with 3 teachers from Everett High
  School to adjust modular materials for use in the
  classroom and develop new inquiry-based lab
  exercises
• Piloted elements of the program this spring at
  the Charlestown Boys Girls Club
• Summer plans include completion of 5 modular labs
  and supporting information as well as preliminary
  development efforts for a methods-based Teachers
  Guide

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Site-Specific SLC Projects

• Developed a biomedical engineering design module
  to be piloted at Chicago Public Schools
• Curriculum emphasizes engineering design process
  and challenge/hands-on activity involving
  designing of artificial upper limbs
• Made connections with Center for International
  Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Institute of
  Chicago for future project development

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Interaction with Chicago Public Schools (CPS)

• Collaborated with 3 CPS teachers about project
  ideas, activities, and current curriculum
• Pilot program with 6th grade science class at
  O.A. Thorp Scholastic Academy
• Continued contact/mentoring between CPS students
  and Northwestern-SLC members via email and future
  visits

Demographics of CPS Students 52 African
American35 Latino9.6 White3.2 Asian/Pacific
Islander0.2 Native American
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Future Plans

• Develop time-line, storyboard, and budget for
  What is BME?
• Explore Industrial Partners as experts for
  interviews What is BME?
• Plan future for San Antonio workshops

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Future Plans

• Recruit VaNTH-wide BME undergraduates and
  graduates to help design Bioreactor and Iron
  Cross exhibits
• Consult industrial partners about possible
  collaborations on exhibit projects
• Expose underrepresented groups to BME-related
  work via outreach in local schools and non-profit
  organizations
• Partner with Fisk for outreach projects and VaNTH
  REU opportunities

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Future Plans

• Full classroom pilot of Spacercise in Fall 2002
  with broader dissemination to follow
• Dissemination of Ethics Working Group through
  other VaNTH partner institutions
• Development of undergraduate SLC branch between
  Harvard and MIT
• Evaluation of existing hands-on biomedical
  engineering activity for classroom visits and
  development of a framework for such outreach

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Future Plans

• Extend program to 3 more classrooms in Chicago
  Public Schools next year
• Implement at other VaNTH-SLC programs within next
  two years
• Create educational video demonstrating use of an
  actual artificial upper limb with assistance from
  Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC)
• Develop award recognition provided by Center for
  International Rehabilitation (CIR)
• Revise module to suit other educational needs
  Museum after-school project and Center for Talent
  Development summer sessions

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SLC Survey Results
Strengths
Opportunities
Weaknesses
Threats
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Educational Levels of ERC Students
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Academic Affiliations
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ERC Participation
Which of these does your work with the ERC
involve?
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Familiarity with ERC Goals
Do you think that you are familiar with ERC
goals?
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How good are your experiences in the following
areas?
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How important are the following experiences
within the ERC?
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Would you prefer more or fewer interactions with
ERC faculty, staff, and students?
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Rate the quality of your interactions with ERC
faculty, staff, and students.
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Strengths

• Increased number of students across sites,
  especially Ph.D.
• Increased number and quality of outreach
  opportunities
• Compatibility between ERC and students goals
• High quality student experiences
• Student experiences across disciplines
• Majority of student interactions are good and
  very good
• Outreach projects are VaNTH-wide and Site-Specific

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Weaknesses

• Want to increase students learning opportunities
• Want to increase the quality of faculty-, staff-,
  and student-student interactions
• Need to increase students participation in
  conferences and on-site activities

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Opportunities

• Compatibility of ERC goals with efforts to
  support future research faculty
• Integration of outreach and research activities
  between sites
• REU mentorship experiences for SLC students
• Foster connections between higher education and
  pre-college students and teachers
• Increased impact on minority students (e.g.,
  Fisk, NSBE, SHPE, Posse Foundation)
• Formation of networks between ERC graduates in
  industry and academia

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Testimonial Dr. Diane Muratore
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Threats

• Failure of university and funding agencies to
  invest in ongoing student projects
• Competition between VaNTH and traditional
  programs for students time
• Discontinuity in SLC organization due to student
  departures

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Suggestions for SLC Improvement

• Develop monthly forums in which students present
  research projects
• Allow future SLC leaders to shadow present
  leaders who will depart the ERC
• Increase communication across sites via monthly
  newsletters and teleconferences
• Increase interaction with other ERCs