Mini-Grants Lead to Major Ideas

Innovation is what keeps Alaska moving forward. So, it isn’t too much of a stretch to take the slogan of the new online class ES100X developed by UAF’s College of Engineering and Mines, ‘If you can engineer in Alaska, you can engineer anywhere,’ and apply it to ‘innovation’.

Makerspace Alaska ES100L is a one-credit face to face laboratory course in which first-year students learn technical skills like programming, digital fabrication, and using Raspberry Pi computers before working in teams to complete a semester-length creative design of their choosing. The teams work all the way from ideation, to proposal submission, to design and development, and finally to fabrication.  

This first student cohort used the UAF makerspace and mini-grant funding provided by Center ICE to develop prototypes addressing a suite of issues. The presentations happening on Dec. 7-9, 2022 will be lively and informative.  An example of one of the projects presented at a similar event last spring shows a robotic snow plow with little to no human interaction.

Please RSVP to attend by clicking on this link or using the QR code on the flier.  If you aren't able to attend in person, webinars will be set up for each presentation and you are welcome to join in.  You can register for a calendar invite with the links on the form, or find the links below: 

Dec 7 - https://bit.ly/T3-Dec7

Dec 8 - https://bit.ly/T3-Dec8

Dec 9 - https://bit.ly/T3-Dec9

Engineering Alaska and Makerspace Alaska are two separate courses developed by CEM that have similar course numbers, but neither course is a prerequisite or corequisite for the other.  Engineering Alaska provides a theoretical and contextual framework, while Makerspace Alaska provides hands-on design experience. At the moment, Makerspace Alaska is only available to students on location at the Fairbanks campus. 

For more information on the mini-grants, please contact Tate Barhaug at tlbarhaug@alaska.edu.