For a noted geek like myself, working with the ASSIST Center was like waking up in the middle of science fiction story. The advancements in the ability of researchers to harvest energy and gather information were nearly surreal. Sharing the experience with my students will certainly capture their imaginations and hopefully motivate them to pursue careers in science.
My mentors, Dr. Eleena Veety and Dr. Jesse Jur, were very supportive of our efforts to develop wearable health monitoring systems. I do not think my experience included an “ah-ha” moment such much as a series of, “We can do that?!” moments. This was made possible by our loose working relationship with Eleena and Jesse. They encouraged us to embrace the engineering design process and explore the possibilities.
The opportunity to employ the engineering design process to create a working prototype of a wearable nanodevice helped me see the utility of that process and its application in a Project Based Learning environment. My students will now receive direct instruction in the process and will integrate aspects of the process into their scrum boards and daily stand ups.