The Pitt Makerspace was founded on the idea that Pitt has students with great ideas and fabrication yearnings, but no where to execute them. What use is an engineering degree if a student does not have access to a collaborative innovation space, or even just the most basic of tools? My team and I began ideation of the room in January of 2016, and have since brought an abandoned computer lab to be a vibrant, lively hub for innovation at Pitt! The room features walls and tables covered with whiteboards, inviting couches, 3D printers, soldering irons, basic power tools, and most importantly: an educated staff read to help students realize their visions.

My specific role in the Makerspace was head of all things education. I safety trained all new Makerspace members (approximately 450 during my tenure), educated staff on fabrication techniques, and designed educational posters to surround the room. Since the Makerspace is a place to learn by doing, my goal was to give all students the support and knowledge to pursue solutions to their problems without giving them any answers. The Makerspace has been a tremendous success and is continuing to be a valuable resource for Pitt students to this day!

I was a TA for a novel class at Pitt called The Art of Making: Hands-On System Design and Engineering. This class provides a tremendous opportunity for first-year students to learn the overlooked parts of Engineering that are not standard in curriculum. We teach design thinking, user discovery, ideation, prototyping, user interfacing, and fabrication through experiential learning.

My specific role was the lead teacher of all things Arduino, embedded systems, and physical fabrication. Aside from participating in all classes, I singly led and taught 4 classes per semester:

• Arduino: I taught students about embedded systems, specifically the Arduino platform. The lesson culminated in students being able to program a robotic car to follow a line, sing, and dance.
• Wearables: I taught students multiple wearable platforms, including the waterproof Flora and Lilypad, as well as internet enabled Photon.
• Electronics and Sensors: I taught students how to effectively use sensors to create systems that respond to a changing environment.
• Physical Fabrication: I taught students how to properly and safely use shop tools to create prototypes and effective user interfaces, venturing into introductory woodworking/metalworking techniques.