Creating the Makers of Tomorrow Since 1854
Responding to President Barack Obama’s call to empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future--and in conjunction with the first-ever White House Maker Faire being held on June 17, 2014--the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering joined more than 150 other universities in signing a letter proclaiming the importance of makers to society and participated in various National Day of Making activities with its own hashtag, #NationOfMakers.
Polytechnic School of Engineering is highlighted in the official Whitehouse document as well as a letter written by Katepalli R. Sreenivasan to President Barack Obama.
From the Panama Canal locks to the Brooklyn Bridge cables, from semiconductors to cordless phones, the NYU School of Engineering has been helping to make and remake the world long before the Maker Movement became a proper noun. NYU School of Engineering’s makers have had a hand in the creation of ATM machines, bar codes, radar, penicillin, polymers, elevator brakes, light beer, and much more. “Making” is part of the school’s DNA, as evidenced by student clubs, makers’ spaces, and the cutting-edge research displayed during the annual Research Expo—a celebration of each academic department’s accomplishments, many of which include the work of young makers.
Many of the Maker Day festivities involved K-12 STEM education and startup business incubators—two areas of focus for the NYU School of Engineering, and the school’s nationally-recognized Center for K-12 STEM Education chose to hold its student teacher training for the Summer Science of Smart Cities Program as part of the day. Additionally, the highly anticipated Cleantech Startups Showcase highlighted five member companies of the NYU School of Engineering incubator network and another three that have already graduated to larger spaces.
Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, president and dean of the NYU School of Engineering, asserted, “Whether entrepreneurs or scholars, the Maker Movement has enabled our community to visualize and commercialize their creativity.”
Read more about some of the things being made here right now.
