{"id":23321,"date":"2018-01-22T09:42:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T14:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=23321"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:53:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:53:51","slug":"making-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=23321","title":{"rendered":"Making Scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to an industry partnership with Eastman and the Eastman Foundation, UNC\u2019s BeAM makerspace program provides 3-D printer filament to students, faculty, and staff free of charge \u2014 encouraging a culture of creativity at Carolina.<\/em><\/p>\n

A green, speckled spadefoot toad sits on a platform in the middle of a kiddie pool. She waits there patiently until a nearby male snags her attention with a mating call \u2014 it sounds like the creak of a door on a rusty hinge. In response, the female leaps into the water and swims to the edge of the pool.<\/p>\n

But the male toad doesn\u2019t react. Why? Upon closer inspection, he\u2019s made of plastic \u2014 even though he has a fully functioning vocal sack that blows up like a balloon when he calls. As air pumps through a tube attached to his back to inflate the sack, a mating call pours out of a nearby speaker.<\/p>\n

\"Catherine
Catherine Chen, a UNC PhD student in the Department of Biology, shows off a set of plastic spadefoot toads that she created to aid her research on their mating habits.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Catherine Chen \u2014 a UNC PhD student studying how auditory signals affect the mating decisions of female spadefoot toads \u2014 spent two months this past summer designing her pseudo amphibians with Charlie Cummings, the former director of UNC\u2019s makerspace program. \u201cI had this idea \u2014 and no clue how to make it happen,\u201d Chen admits. \u201cCharlie helped me plan it out and came up with a lot of the actual mechanics.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 3-D scanning a preserved toad into the computer, Chen used a 3-D Printer to create its plastic counterpart. Then, Cummings helped her set up the tubing system and an Arduino \u2014 an open-source prototyping platform for creating interactive electronic objects \u2014 to sync the motion of the vocal sack with the speakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actual mechanics of assembling everything wasn\u2019t that bad, but getting the sound and the valves to operate together took a while,\u201d Chen says. \u201cBut once we got it working, it felt super satisfying and awesome to be able to come up with an idea for something I didn\u2019t really know how to do \u2014 and then get the resources and help I needed in order to actually make that happen. I have high hopes that it will lead to some cool, scientific results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

Unlike most college campuses, UNC\u2019s BeAM (Be a Maker) makerspaces<\/a> are open to students, faculty, and staff in any department. What\u2019s more, there is no cost to use the equipment or materials found there.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI don\u2019t know of any other program in the nation that is set up like this,\u201d Cummings says \u2014 and the cost is worth the reward. Like Chen\u2019s frogs. Or UNC biology major Rachael Hamm\u2019s Braille textbook illustrations<\/a>. Or the UNC-based nonprofit that makes prosthetic hands for children.<\/p>\n

The filament<\/a> \u2014 or \u201cplastic string\u201d \u2014 that feeds through the 3-D printers is provided by Eastman<\/a>, a global advanced materials and specialty additives company headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. What began as a collaborative chemistry and materials science research partnership in 2013<\/a> has extended into the entire university community.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a research standpoint, we realize the world is changing and that 3-D printing or additive manufacturing is going to be very important,\u201d says Steve Wright<\/a>, a technology fellow at Eastman. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure how yet, but we want to be prepared for it, so we\u2019re doing materials research to support those types of needs. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to have this capability at UNC \u2014 to achieve those goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond supplying the filament for the 3-D printers, Eastman also provides hands-on training workshops for using them. This past December, the materials company hosted its first of many seminars on 3-D printing technology advancement at UNC. \u201cOur partnership with Eastman gives us access to materials and expertise that we wouldn\u2019t have otherwise,\u201d says Glenn Walters, technical adviser for the makerspaces and research associate within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThey have really prioritized research, and they value the importance of pursuing things just because they seem interesting,\u201d he continues. \u201cThat\u2019s important in a makerspace \u2014 you don\u2019t always have to have a good reason to start doing something. And their support of what we do allows us to bounce crazy ideas off them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Eastman Foundation<\/a> invests in initiatives and programs that focus on education, environment, empowerment and economic development. \u201cThis partnership and makerspace is a great example of opportunities to simulate real-world situations, helping students to develop interdisciplinary skills and gain hands-on experience in an academic environment,\u201d says CeeGee McCord, director of the Eastman Foundation and Global Public Affairs.<\/p>\n

In turn, Eastman appreciates the constructive feedback and new ideas they receive from working with students and faculty at the university. \u201cWe love that we have a fresh pair of eyes on projects,\u201d Wright says. \u201cWe want to understand how our materials can play in a space like this, and what we can do differently. Right now, I\u2019ve got five or six ideas to bring back to our technical people \u2014 and it\u2019s the smallest ideas that turn into the biggest successes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eastman believes in the need for students to achieve the hands-on capability to make things \u2014 and BeAM personifies that perfectly, according to Wright. \u201cWe cannot afford to be close-minded about the ways we look at addressing the big problems in the world,\u201d he says. \u201cWorking with world-class research institutes is absolutely vital for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch a video<\/a> about the BeAM makerspaces and the Eastman partnership.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Catherine Chen is a PhD student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Biology within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n

Charlie Cummings is the former program director for the BeAM makerspace program. He left the university in December 2017 to take a faculty position within the University of Florida\u2019s Innovation Academy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Steve Wright is a technology fellow within the Corporate Technology Division at Eastman Chemical Company, a UNC industry partner since 2013. He is also a UNC alumnus within the Department of Chemistry\u2019s PhD program.<\/em><\/p>\n

Glenn Walters is the technical adviser for the BeAM makerspace program. He is also a research association for the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) and director of the ESE Design Center within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.<\/em><\/p>\n

CeeGee McCord is the director of global public and community affairs for the Eastman Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n

UNC-Chapel Hill\u2019s partnership with Eastman is managed by the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations. The office represents the university\u2019s academic priorities through its strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of corporations, foundations, and industries to maximize their investment in Carolina. For more information, please contact the office\u2019s director of business development, industry relations, Joonhyung Cho<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Story and video by Alyssa LaFaro, Endeavors magazine<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thanks to an industry partnership with Eastman and the Eastman Foundation, UNC\u2019s BeAM makerspace program provides 3-D printer filament to students, faculty, and staff free of charge \u2014 encouraging a culture of creativity at 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