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A Trip to Georgia Tech

Amin Mojtahedi,  UW Milwaukee

Amin Mojtahedi, UW Milwaukee

 


This article was written by Amin Mojtahedi, a University Innovation Fellow Candidate at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Amin is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Architecture and was visiting the Georgia Tech campus for one week at the end of January. See his full bio here
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As part of an architectural study for Georgia Tech (GT), I had the chance to spend the entire last week on the GT campus exploring places related to the landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship

Georgia Tech Invention Studio

Georgia Tech Invention Studio

(I&E). One of my most memorable visits was to the Invention Studio at the Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex where Alexis, a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering, gave me a comprehensive tour of the facility. The Invention Studio was a student-run maker space where the opportunity for students to design, prototype and share was provided through workshops, experienced student “masters” in about 13 areas, and access to a wide range of materials and impressive cutting edge machinery including computer controlled machines (e.g., 3D printers, 3D scanners, laser engraving and cutting machines, waterjet, etc.), powered manual machines (e.g., bandsaw, injection molding, drill press, etc.) electronics equipment, and hand tools. In the fifth year of its operation, the Invention Studio has about 170 members and is opening branches in other schools on campus. Despite the rapid growth, members still bond over video games and move nights in the comfy lounge equipped with a large screen right across the Studio.

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IDClogo

Innovation & Design Collaborative, Georgia Tech

Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was meeting the GT three UIFs: Megna, a 5th year Biomedical Engineer; Alex, a 3rd year Mechanical Engineer; and Rachel, a 5th year Biomedical Engineer. We all first met at the Starbucks in the architecturally impressive Clough Learning Commons. Later, Megna and Alex kindly gave me a complete tour of the Innovation & Design Collaborative in the GT library. IDC, or Design Block as Megna liked to call it, was an intelligently designed 4,000 sqf space with a variety of furniture from playful foam cubes to customized tall studio-like desks for group work. A Unistrut ceiling and racks provide drop-down access to electrical utility for users to be able to plug in while being in their desired spot and white boards were everywhere. With Wayne Li’s help, the space and program were designed after Stanford’s d.school. I concluded the tour by participating in Wayne’s class on Contextual Awareness – as one of the five tenets the 21st century creative thinker can use to disrupt markets and drive innovation. IDC’s space is open to GT students 24/7 and is currently holding workshops while providing resources for learning Design Behavior.

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Best Wishes to Our Graduating Fellows

We have several Fellows graduating from their institutions this semester! This is a monumental moment for them as they enter into their future endeavors.

Graduation is a time of excitement, anxiety and nervousness, but not a time to be afraid. We have watched all of you dedicate yourselves to something bigger than your degree – this movement. We pushed you hard and held you to the highest of standards, and each and every one of you rose to exceed that challenge. We could not be more proud!

We have great confidence that all of you will continue to dedicate yourselves fully to everything you do. We are extremely happy that you have allowed the University Innovation Fellows to be a part of your higher education experience. We will always continue to lend our support and cannot wait to see what you achieve in the future! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Revel in the vastness of opportunity in front of you. Your future is yours.

Sincerely,

The UIF Team (Humera, Leticia, Katie & Laurie)

 

 

Our congratulations goes out to:

Karuna Relwani, University of Pittsburgh
Jared Karp, University of California Berkeley
Sean Maroni, North Carolina State University
Sharang Phadke, Cooper Union
Jack Goodwin, University of California San Diego
Kevin Mobolade, Mercer University
Sarah Rozman, James Madison University
Jennifer Mayo, Oklahoma State University
Atin Mittra, University of Maryland College Park
Meenu Singh, University of Maryland College Park
Saheb Kapoor, Kettering University
Nicholas Fong, University of California, Merced
Ana Gouveia, University of Massachusetts Lowell
James Abdallah, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Ryan Phillips, University of Oklahoma
Alex Francis, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Chigozie Dike, Xavier University of Louisiana
Yifan Ge, Bucknell University
Brittany Wouden, Washington State University Vancouver
Michael Tantum, Wake Forest University
Christopher Woodward, Western Michigan University

If you would like to wish them well, please leave an inspiring comment below.