Jiayi (Judy) Chen '15 spent four weeks this summer at the Women's Technology Program at MIT. Designed to "spark interest in the future study of engineering and computer science" among young women, the program offers hands-on classes, labs, and team projects. Inspired by a professor from the MIT Biomimetics Robotics Lab who spoke at Middlesex, Judy focused on mechanical engineering. Here, Judy reflects on her experience at the Women's Technology Program:
Describe a project, lab, or class that was particularly interesting to you.
After learning about the robot cheetah from Dr. Sangbae Kim during a Hub Lecture, I became interested in biomimetics. In the third week of the program, my partner and I designed a bio-inspired water collection device for desert travelers. After looking at various desert plants, we choose to mimic the microstructure of desert cactus spine that attracts water. The final product is a mesh with micro-spines on the wires that can collect fog droplets. It was fascinating for me to learn how the mechanical structure of a plant can be so cleverly made (the spine attracts water even upside-down).
The program is designed to introduce women to the fields of engineering and computer science and spark their interest in pursuing further study. Was your interest sparked?
Definitely! The program got me into thinking about majoring in mechanical engineering or material engineering. Because of the project above, I want to study more about microstructures and biomimetics.
What did you take away from this experience?
Mechanical engineering overlaps and connects with many other fields, and it is so much more that what I imagined to be. Also, as engineers, it is possible to make almost anything, if you want to make it!
