(525a) The Higher Ed Maker Initiative and the Opportunity for Cheme

In June of 2014 the White House held its first ever Maker Faire.  In honor of this event and the National Week of Making, over 150 institutions of higher education co-signed a letter to President Obama committing to building a nation of makers.  A further 51 schools added individual letters further specifying their commitments, including a number of well-known engineering schools.  In an ongoing effort to sustain this movement, these schools have formed the Make Schools Alliance (MakeSchools.org) to share best practices, pool resources, and support making.  In this talk, I’ll explain the goals of the Alliance, give examples of how making-related processes and skills can benefit chemical engineering students, and share some ways to get involved.