2018-2019-STEAM-Superheroes - Flipbook - Page 12
RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
EPIC IDENTITY FEATURING PROF. LEIA STIRLING
A superhero’s ensemble can be critical to their powers. A wearable device, a
customized gadget, or the suit itself: these elements enhance the hero’s abilities.
MIT Professor Leia Stirling is an engineer who develops new wearable technology,
like specialized boots for astronauts, that enhance the way humans perform.
What’s more, she comes up with ways to measure and quantify how effective
wearables are, i.e. how much more power, speed, or agility does the technology
actually give its wearer?
The objective of Epic Identity is for Nord Anglia students to learn about wearable
technology and its ability to improve human performance. MIT challenges
students to test or develop wearable technologies, and analyze how they
enhance the identity and/or powers of a superhero.
SUPER NATURAL FEATURING PROF. ANETTE “PEKO” HOSOI
Some of the powers superheroes possess already exist in the animal
kingdom. Other superheroes are anthropomorphized animals, with a
combination of human and animal traits. Like these superheroes, MIT
Professor Anette “Peko” Hosoi looks to animals to understand how
biology has solved problems better than engineers have. One such
result is a new material for a surfer’s wetsuit, inspired by a beaver’s fur!
The objective of Super Natural is to closely observe the natural world
and understand the physics behind an animal’s adaptation, then
apply that knowledge to engineering design. MIT challenges students
to conduct an engineering project that draws inspiration from the
animal world.
MEDICAL MARVEL FEATURING PROF. CHRIS VOIGT
It’s not the gadgets or the powers that make a superhero heroic; it’s how
they improve the lives of people. Improving human health through biological
engineering is one way MIT is doing this. MIT Professor Chris Voigt thinks
of cells like complex circuits, with inputs, outputs, and logic. He is working
on a computer language that allows researchers to more easily program
cells, the way they might program a computer. This will lead to more
experimentation and hopefully better medicine.
The objective of Medical Marvel is to tap into the potential of applying
engineering principles to biological problems to improve human health.
MIT challenges Nord Anglia students to engineer biology to make life
better for someone with an illness or a disability.
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