diversity
https://mechanical.sitemasonry.gmu.edu/
enNew course encourages students to find their seats at the table
https://mechanical.sitemasonry.gmu.edu/news/2022-06/new-course-encourages-students-find-their-seats-table
<span>New course encourages students to find their seats at the table</span>
<span><span lang="" about="/user/226" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" content="4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong)">4429684e-ae8d-…</span></span>
<span>Mon, 06/13/2022 - 12:46</span>
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<h2>In This Story</h2>
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<div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/lmccuewe" hreflang="und">Leigh McCue-Weil</a></div>
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<div class="field__item"><p><span><span> </span></span><span><span><span><span>As the demographic landscape shifts and becomes more diverse, engineers have an opportunity to form teams who can explore problems from more perspectives and enhance solutions. Last spring the college offered an interactive, discussion-based course that investigated the history of contributions by engineers who have been marginalized by race or gender and studied cases where a lack of diversity contributed to adverse engineering consequences. </span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span> “This was the most rewarding class I’ve ever taught. The cohort of students we had was thoughtful, engaged, open, and honest. We had frank, respectful conversations about tough issues where everyone need not, and did not, agree,” says<a href="https://mechanical.gmu.edu" title="Department of Mechanical Engineering"> Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering</a>, Leigh McCue who co-taught the course with Associate Dean for Diversity, Outreach, and Inclusive Learning, Christopher Carr.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>Violetta Rostobaya (BSME ’22) says that when she registered for the class, she didn’t know what to expect. </span></span><span><span><span>“I barely knew any of my classmates since most of us spent sophomore and junior years during the pandemic. Talking about our personal experiences as engineering students was sometimes fun, sometimes uneasy, but overall, it really bridged that gap in socialization that happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. </span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>The class also addressed the impact that social barriers and lack of diversity in STEM can have on an industry’s design process, research, and education system. </span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>They learned how diversity in engineering<strong> </strong>influences decision-making, team dynamics, and design. They also looked at the results of a lack of diversity. </span></span></span><span><span>Diverse teams who can look at a problem from different perspectives often uncover hidden challenges. Once they identify the underlying issues, they can develop innovative solutions.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>Rostobaya says they gleaned information from both newspapers, and scholarly journals to find cases. “For example, we learned that crash test dummies are designed with the average 5’9’’ 171 lb. male body in mind, and anyone, who does not fit into this description, responds to the impact of a vehicle crash differently,” she says. </span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>A second, more </span></span></span><span><span>current example is the design of the pulse oximeter <span>which measures blood oxygen levels and was used extensively for patients who had Covid-19. Some research indicates that the amount of melanin can affect the reading. This problem has existed since the device’s invention in the 1970s but resurfaced during the pandemic due to the tool’s increased use. An article in The New England Journal of Medicine says, “</span></span></span><span><span><span>Our findings highlight an ongoing need to understand and correct racial bias in pulse oximetry and other forms of medical technology.”</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span>“Having open conversations was a breath of fresh air among heavy technical classes,” says Rostobaya. </span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span>I only can wish more students would take this class in the future and learn more about how they can improve STEM spaces.”</span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/941" hreflang="en">diversity</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/136" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/171" hreflang="en">mechanical engineering</a></div>
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Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:46:11 +00004429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong)816 at https://mechanical.sitemasonry.gmu.eduSenior design team serves those who serve
https://mechanical.sitemasonry.gmu.edu/news/2021-01/senior-design-team-serves-those-who-serve
<span>Senior design team serves those who serve</span>
<span><span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span></span>
<span>Fri, 01/15/2021 - 08:33</span>
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<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/171" hreflang="en">mechanical engineering</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/951" hreflang="en">Veterans</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/946" hreflang="en">Senior Design Project</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/251" hreflang="en">Research</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/956" hreflang="en">Student Research</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/941" hreflang="en">diversity</a></div>
<div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/126" hreflang="en">Volgenau School of Engineering</a></div>
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srcset="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq236/files/styles/feature_image_small/public/2021-01/me-wheel-full.jpg?itok=C0eOHH-m 768w,/sites/g/files/yyqcgq236/files/styles/feature_image_medium/public/2021-01/me-wheel-full.jpg?itok=7w6ajoyE 1024w,/sites/g/files/yyqcgq236/files/styles/feature_image_large/public/2021-01/me-wheel-full.jpg?itok=l-5XfsGO 1280w,"
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alt="Six teammates of the senior design team stand outside in front of the engineering building with the wheelchair they are building.">
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<div class="field field--name-field-feature-image-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Left to right: Taha Imtiaz, Erwin Alicic, Nicolas Corley, Soheil Shadian, Jon Licata, and Tanner Holland worked with industry partners and their faculty advisor to give back to an Army veteran. Photo by Evan Cantwell.</p></div>
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<div class="field__item"><p>Our warfighters have sacrificed a great deal to serve our country, and a Mason mechanical engineering senior design team is paying it forward to a veteran who needed an innovative engineering solution to improve everyday life. </p>
<p>Seniors Erwin Alicic, Taha Imtiaz, Jon Licata, Tanner Holland, Nicolas Corley, and Soheil Shadian are working with Quality of Life Plus (QL+), a non-profit that aims to use innovation to improve the quality of life for those who have served our country. The team’s challenger, an Army veteran who uses a wheelchair, tasked the team with designing and building a one-of-a-kind wheelchair. </p>
<p>“Our challenger needs to be able to more easily go up inclines in her wheelchair while carrying groceries or other items. Right now, it is hard for her to push herself up a hill or ramp while also carrying her things,” says Alicic, the team leader. </p>
<p>Upon receiving their challenge at the start of the fall 2020 semester, the team jumped right into devising a plan to see the project through from start to finish. They divided roles, brainstormed design concepts that tackled her specific needs, and they continue to play on each other’s strengths as they execute the project. </p>
<p>“We looked at who had what strengths or had more experience in areas of our project and assigned those roles accordingly. Each person acts as a specialist in their area,” says Alicic. “There are a lot of things to consider with building this wheelchair, like balance, safety, and ease of use. Our challenger needs it to be able to cross different terrains too, so we needed to figure out how to complete the project efficiently.” </p>
<p>The team must utilize all the skills and knowledge they have acquired throughout their college careers, from physics and technical design concepts to project management and entrepreneurship best practices. </p>
<p lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">And through collaboration with their sponsor, faculty advisor Adjunct Professor Robert Gallo, and the challenger, the team produced a design and learned along the way. </p>
<p>“We are used to starting a problem knowing that we have all of the information we need, and that wasn’t the case here. It took us time to get all of the right information, and to even know what questions to be asking,” says Imtiaz. </p>
<p>“There were meetings where we came away feeling much less confident than when we went in,” says Alicic. “We had to go back to the drawing board a few times once new information came to light, there was definitely some trial and error.” </p>
<p>Nonetheless, once they figured out the details, the team pinned down a design that fits within their given budget in the fall semester. “We decided to build an electrically motorized wheelchair with a swiveling basket in the back that she can easily store her things in without adding strain,” says Alicic. </p>
<p>Now in the spring semester, the team is looking forward to the building and testing portion of their project, and mostly, to the final result. </p>
<p>“For all our classes, we put in hard work on tests and assignments, and at the end, the reward is the grade that you earn. But with this project, it is much more fulfilling since we are making a real impact on someone’s life, and we get to see the difference in her day-to-day,” says Holland. </p>
<p>The team is looking forward to applying the knowledge they learned on this project to their future engineering careers. “We had to work within our given parameters with people we hadn’t worked with before, which is remarkably similar to how we will complete projects in the workforce. Senior design is a great way to learn about teamwork and how to work with different stakeholders,” says Alicic. </p>
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Fri, 15 Jan 2021 13:33:28 +0000Anonymous876 at https://mechanical.sitemasonry.gmu.edu