Local high schoolers discover bioengineering at George Mason’s BioE Buzz Summer Camp

tdonnel — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 15:18:20 +0000

Local high schoolers discover bioengineering at George Mason’s BioE Buzz Summer Camp tdonnel Mon, 07/08/2024 - 11:18

A group of local rising high school juniors and seniors attended the BioE Buzz Summer Camp at George Mason University in June. Organized by the Department of Bioengineering’s Internship Coordinator and Adjunct Professor Carolyn Wilson, the four-day camp introduced campers to the discipline’s applications in solving medical problems.

Research Assistant Professor David Lemonnier works with a student. Photo by Eduardo Macedo/Office of University Branding

Throughout the week, campers met graduate and undergraduate students and faculty, received tours of George Mason's state-of-the-art research facilities and the Fairfax Campus, and participated in lab activities led by faculty on such topics as molecular biology, nanotechnology, neuroscience, ultrasound technology, and community-engaged design.

Hands-on experiences allowed students to apply their knowledge and develop their interests in practical settings.

One activity, led by Associate Professor Remi Veneziano and doctoral student Dylan Scarton, introduced the campers to DNA origami through a lab that involved gel electrophoresis.

Doctoral student Zahra Taghizadeh led an activity about muscle movement. Photo by Eduardo Macedo/Office of University Branding

In addition, the students learned some basics about sterile technique and gained hands-on experience in cell culture during an activity led by doctoral student Bryce Dunn.

Another activity, led by postdoctoral researcher J. Jesus Hernandez-Perez, involved using computer simulation of neuromuscular junctions.

Shirin Movaghgharnezhad, an assistant research professor, led an activity where students could activate and record muscle movement on each other.

Doctoral student Erica King led an activity that involved using ultrasound and force plate technology to visualize muscles in the body.

Master's student Gavin Smiga leads virtual reality activity. Photo by Eduardo Macedo/Office of University Branding

Research Assistant Professor Samuel Acuna and Professor Siddhartha Sikdar led another activity in the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI). In addition to introducing the students to methods that measure brain rhythms, the pair demonstrated and had the students interact with a former undergraduate team’s senior design project, a virtual reality system for physical therapy.

By participating in the BioE-Buzz Summer Camp at George Mason, campers not only improved their understanding of bioengineering and their familiarity with George Mason but also developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

An exceptional opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to immerse themselves in the world of bioengineering, the BioE Buzz Summer Camp is planned to recur in summer 2025.

Topics

Bioengineering

Department of Bioengineering

STEM summer camps spark student collaboration

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 16:22:09 +0000

STEM summer camps spark student collaboration 4429684e-ae8d-… Fri, 07/12/2019 - 12:22

Students (from front left to front right) Veronika Shcherbynina, Riley Blackburn, Nathan Madden, Caleb Faulkerson, and Elyssia Brown use common household items like cardboard, hot glue, and tape to test their water-proofing skills and learn about civil engineering concepts. Photo by Ryley McGinnis.

Tinfoil and hot glue aren’t what most people would use to waterproof their houses, but for the middle school to high school-aged campers participating in the Volgenau School of Engineering’s STEM Summer Camps, these are some of the tools they used to learn the basics of civil engineering.

The camps started July 8 and continue through August 9. Each week focuses on different areas in engineering, computer science, big data, and more. Mason Engineering students are on hand to lend a hand and help the campers with their projects.

“We have 120 students enrolled in our STEM summer camps this year,” says Kammy Sanghera, STEM outreach director for Mason Engineering. “The students enjoy hands-on activities and being at our state-of-the-art facility. They are eager to learn what they could do with the concepts and tools they learn from us.”

“A lot of young kids don’t want anything to do with science or math, but this shows them that civil engineering is more than crunching numbers, that bioengineering can save lives, that with computer engineering you can build computers, and so much more,” Ayeni says. “That knowledge has value.”

Ephraim Ayeni, electrical engineering student

In the first week of the camps, the campers learned fundamentals of four areas of engineering from Mason Engineering students in their respective majors: electrical, civil, mechanical, and bioengineering.

After that first week, campers can expand their knowledge of specific topics, such as networking, cybersecurity, big data, with different camps through the remainder of the summer.

“Students are coming here as part of their decision-making process, so we make the camps hands-on to give them a brief overview of what engineering does to help them figure out what interests them,” says Bhargavi Mavintop, a computer science graduate teaching assistant and a camp coordinator.

Mason Engineering students start by teaching the participants the basics of each field and expanding to more difficult topics, which allows the campers to be very specialized.

“I do appreciate that Mason is making this available and making it specific so that they get full exposure to the different areas of engineering,” says Mason junior Ephraim Ayeni, one of the instructors for the electrical engineering section of the camps.

Ayeni and his fellow instructor, Aaron Suresh, a junior studying electrical engineering, began their undergraduate careers as computer engineering majors, but both later realized that their perception of computer engineering was much different than reality and that they enjoyed electrical engineering more.

They hope these camps not only expose students to engineering but show them the path they want to take.

“I wish I had this exposure earlier in my life, maybe my experience would’ve been different,” says Ayeni. “Exposing them to different types of fields shows them the type of engineering that is meant for them.”

While these campers are learning new technical skills, both Ayeni and Suresh emphasized that they are trying to also teach them problem-solving strategies, and how to work with other people.

“My least favorite part is watching kids get frustrated and quit,” Suresh says. “It’s okay if it’s hard, but when you just sit there and let your partner do everything you won’t learn anything.”

Ayeni and Suresh tried to promote teamwork by actively encouraging participants to talk to one another, which they hoped would lead to more perseverance in understanding the skills themselves if they had a partner to help them.

“These kids are so lucky, they are growing up in an age where technology is so convenient and they shouldn’t take it for granted,” Ayeni says.

Ayeni and Suresh, along with the other instructors for these camps, hope that teaching the campers about their fields will show them what engineering has to offer and hopefully will draw more young minds into the ever-growing field.

“A lot of young kids don’t want anything to do with science or math, but this shows them that civil engineering is more than crunching numbers, that bioengineering can save lives, that with computer engineering you can build computers, and so much more,” Ayeni says. “That knowledge has value.”