2018-2019-STEAM-Superheroes - Flipbook - Page 25
RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
Option 2: Challenge-specific call for collaborators
The following outline potential ways in which you might be support each of the three STEAM
Superheroes challenges:
Super Natural featuring Prof. Peko Hosoi
Some of the powers superheroes possess exist in the animal kingdom. Other superheroes are anthropomorphized animals, with a combination of human and animal traits. Like these superheroes, Prof. Peko
Hosoi looks to the animal kingdom for solutions to human problems. One such result is a new material
for a surfer’s wetsuit, inspired by a beaver’s fur! In this challenge students will conduct an engineering
project that draws inspiration from the animal world. We are actively looking for:
• Biologists, zoologists, veterinarians, naturalists and others that qualified to speak with
students about a wide variety of animal species and their respective ‘superpowers’.
• Product designers, mechanical engineers, or material scientists that can speak with students
about specific product design processes.
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
both develops new wearable technology, like specialized boots for astronauts, that enhance the way
humans perform. What’s more, she comes up 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? In this
challenge students will test or develop wearable technologies, and analyze how they enhance the identity
and/or powers of a superhero. We are looking for:
• Professionals working with sensors, smart apparel, and other technologies to explore and
quantify human performance to speak with students, lead hands-on workshops, or mentor
students as they develop their own projects.
• Assistance managing student participation in a field day of collecting data while students
perform physical tasks.
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.
We are actively looking for:
• Bioengineers or synthetic biologists to speak with students, lead hands-on workshops, or
mentor students as they develop their own projects.
• Engineers that have experience applying their education and skills to problems not
traditionally considered within the realm of the engineer.
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