Giving back to the community

STEM EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

After-school and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) summer programs have helped me get to where I am today. Through my education and outreach efforts, I hope to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, especially those who are underrepresented or are otherwise disadvantaged.

PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER MEET-A-SCIENTIST

Spring 2016 - Present

As a Pacific Science Center Science Communication Fellow, I engage with the public about my research in a fun, accessible way for visitors of all backgrounds and ages. I facilitate the activity described below.

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“We’re in This Together: Brain-Computer Interfaces!”

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow us to control things like robotic arms and computer cursors using just our thoughts. So if BCIs exist, why don’t we see them everywhere yet? Come to this activity to put yourself in the BCI’s shoes and find out why!

GIRLS MAKE GAMES WORKSHOP COORDINATOR

Summer 2017

Organized a game development workshop for young girls in Seattle. In this workshop, I taught participants how to create their own simple 2-D platformer using Stencyl. Girls Make Games is an organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in game development.

CSNE HACKATHON

Summer 2015 - Spring 2017

Sole coordinator of the 2015-2016, and co-coordinator of the 2016-2017, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) Hackathon. This multi-day event challenges undergraduate and graduate students from across the US to prototype a neural engineering solution or educational tool within 36 hours.

CSNE SUMMER PROGRAM MENTOR

Summer 2015, 2016, 2017

Every summer since starting my PhD at the University of Washington, I have mentored pre-college and undergraduate students participating in the CSNE Young Scholars Program (YSP) and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). This includes helping students learn to work collaboratively and independently in a university research setting.

INTRO TO NEURAL ENGINEERING TA

Winter 2016

Held office hours for students in BIOEN 498 / CSE 490 N and graded weekly homework assignments. I also led a class on hands-on demonstrations of neural engineering applications.