In late-July, the University of Michigan Industrial and Operations Engineering (U-M IOE) department partnered with U-M Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) to host a camp focusing on science and engineering for 7th and 8th grade girls.
U-M IOE was able to host a one-day camp with the support of grants from three IOE faculty members, Leia Stirling, Associate Professor, Xi Jessie Yang, Associate Professor, and Sheryl Ulin, Ergonomics Research Program Officer.
The camp was five days in total, one of which was focused on ergonomics and human-automation interaction (ENCHANT). During this day campers visited north campus to view the U-M IOE Center for Ergonomics and the Robotics Lab and to participate in various activity stations.
“In the four stations the campers experienced different ways people can interact with advanced technologies,” said Yang.
The four activity stations, run by graduate students, included experimenting with inertial measurement units (IMUs), driving a car using an autonomous vehicle driving simulator, using a robot to position Legos, and learning about robots in daily life through a game.
“It was not only great for the campers who attended but it was also great for our graduate students to connect with them,” said Ulin. “That’s not something that they regularly get to do.”
The camp is supported by Yang’s CAREER grant through the NSF Human-Centered Computing (HCC) program, Stirling’s grants through the NSF Mind, Machine, and Motor Nexus (M3X) program, and Ulin’s Outreach grant, one component of the Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, a NIOSH sponsored Education and Research Center.
The WISE GISE camp is an annual effort organized by the University of Michigan. To view all of the photos from the event visit this link.
