The VaNTH ERC's Student Leadership
Council works closely with K-12 and higher education institutions in
an effort to disseminate bioengineering knowledge to pre-college
students, college students, teachers, faculty, and underrepresented
groups interested in learning more about the field of bioengineering.
A core group of students serve as administrative leaders for local SLC
groups at Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University, the
University of Texas, Austin, and Health Sciences & Technology of
Harvard/the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). These campus
leaders help organize outreach activities, recruit new students to the
SLC, introduce the university community to the goals of the local SLC,
and form partnerships with campus organizations that support the goals
of the SLC.
Although our SLC is developing and
disseminating several projects, descriptions of a few projects are
found below.
VaNTH-Wide Project
"What
is BME?" (CD-ROM) Development
A CD-ROM will be
distributed to high school students or college freshmen with interests
in bioengineering, engineering, science, or a health-related field.
The purpose of CD distribution is to increase students' understanding
of bioengineering and to increase the matriculation of students in
bioengineering-related fields of study. The SLC is in the process of
interviewing and obtaining photographs of bioengineers working in the
areas of education, law, medicine, government, and business.
Site Specific
Outreach Projects
Vanderbilt University
Education and engineering
graduate and undergraduate students at Vanderbilt University partnered
with the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach and with Martin Luther
King (MLK) Magnet School in Nashville, Tennessee. In April 2004, a
videoconference detailing BME senior design projects were presented to
advanced middle school and high school students through the Center for
Science Outreach. Students involved in the videoconference also
learned about BME. The VU chapter of the Biomedical Engineering
Society partnered with the VU SLC to tutor MLK students during the
2003-2004 academic year. Ph.D. Candidate and VU SLC member, Cordelia
Brown, mentored seniors from MLK during a year-long practicum.
Northwestern
University
Bioengineering
graduate and undergraduate students at Northwestern University are
working closely with Dr. Suzanne Olds, a bioengineering professor who
is the Principal Investigator for this federally-funded
artificial
limb project.
Students are helping to develop and disseminate education materials
based upon the "How People Learn" learning theory. The learning module
requires that middle school students build a prosthetic arm using a
formative-based design process. Students are also beginning to work
with Research Experience for Teachers (RET) participants.
University of Texas (Austin)
Since the
creation of the undergraduate Biomedical Engineering department at the
University of Texas (Austin), UT BME undergraduates have created a
chartered SLC and have interacted with several on-campus groups
interested in science outreach to K-12 students. In addition, students have developed an interactive
physiology project that has been taught to elementary students in
an Austin museum. Using white t-shirts, cloth markers, and paper, local children
drew internal organs and learned about the human body.
HST/MIT
For detailed
information about what is happening within the HST/MIT SLC, check out
the HST/MIT VaNTH ERC Student
Council Leadership website!
