Outreach Activities

I am strongly committed to raising interest levels and knowledge in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) with students of all ages, particularly girls.

The following are my recent and ongoing outreach activities:

I host a local high school Math or Computer Science teacher as a short-term researcher in my laboratory every summer as part of the Vanderbilt University Bioengineering Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program. The teacher that I have hosted the past two years has learned new programming skills and libraries and has integrated his research projects into assignments for his high school classes. His 2008 project resulted in a conference paper.
I have agreed to participate in the 2010 Tennessee Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research (T.W.I.S.T.E.R.)program at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. The intent of the program is to motivate girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and research careers.
I provide a robotics lecture to the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering Explorers post. My lecture focuses on introducing high school juniors and seniors to the different engineering and science majors that can be pursued when seeking a career in robotics.
I am a practice volunteer and a race day running buddy for the Girls on the Run: Nashville program. This 12 week program seeks to empower third through sixth grade girls by promoting self-respect and healthy lifestyles while training for a 5K run/walk. The program culminates with the girls participating in a local 5K race with their running buddy.

My prior outreach activities include:

I was a member on three For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics teams. This program promotes science and technology to high school students while the team designs, builds, and tests a robot for competition.
I volunteered and co-advised a Boy Scouts of America Computer Science Explorers Post at Eastman Kodak Company.