When I was finishing my first year in undergrad, I was undecided in the College of Arts and Science with an idea for an invention and no one to turn to for guidance (note: a makerspace wasn’t even a thing yet). That summer of 2000, I filed my first provisional patent and made the decision to switch into mechanical engineering because I wanted to learn how to make anything I imagined. Little did I know that it wouldn’t be till graduate school that I would hone the maker skills I use today for my creative pursuits, research projects, and product development ventures.
Since coming to Vanderbilt in 2016 to start the makerspace in the Wond’ry, one of my goals has been to smooth the road for any student that has a project or an idea and provide the guidance and training I wish I had in undergrad. In support of…
