ABSTRACT
This paper presents design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel virtual-physical summer Robotics camp for 7th-12th grade students offered by the Manufacturing and Technology Resource Consortium (MTRC) at Stony Brook University during the COVID-19 pandemic*. The MTRC is New York state's Empire State Development's Regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center for the Long Island region. While this program had been offered in person in 2018 and 2019, in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, it was offered online only using a virtual-physical robotics platform. The modality of this platform consisted of a novel hardware kit, which was shipped to students in advance, a web-based robot motion design software, and a curriculum which brought the hardware and software together. This paper presents a study on the feasibility and accessibility of this program and its effectiveness in engaging students and exposing them to key robotics concepts while helping them make suitable career decisions. The pre- and post-program surveys indicated that the students' interest in a STEM field increased as a result of this camp, helped them understand that robotics is much more than just programming, and taught them mechanical design, practical electronics, and microcontroller programming in a flipped and experiential learning format. Moreover, survey results also indicated an attitudinal shift in their decision making based on the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that they acquired in the camp. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022
ABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.644593.].
ABSTRACT
We estimate that 208,000 deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices have been implanted to address neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders worldwide. DBS Think Tank presenters pooled data and determined that DBS expanded in its scope and has been applied to multiple brain disorders in an effort to modulate neural circuitry. The DBS Think Tank was founded in 2012 providing a space where clinicians, engineers, researchers from industry and academia discuss current and emerging DBS technologies and logistical and ethical issues facing the field. The emphasis is on cutting edge research and collaboration aimed to advance the DBS field. The Eighth Annual DBS Think Tank was held virtually on September 1 and 2, 2020 (Zoom Video Communications) due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting focused on advances in: (1) optogenetics as a tool for comprehending neurobiology of diseases and on optogenetically-inspired DBS, (2) cutting edge of emerging DBS technologies, (3) ethical issues affecting DBS research and access to care, (4) neuromodulatory approaches for depression, (5) advancing novel hardware, software and imaging methodologies, (6) use of neurophysiological signals in adaptive neurostimulation, and (7) use of more advanced technologies to improve DBS clinical outcomes. There were 178 attendees who participated in a DBS Think Tank survey, which revealed the expansion of DBS into several indications such as obesity, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and Alzheimer's disease. This proceedings summarizes the advances discussed at the Eighth Annual DBS Think Tank.