About the Making & Innovation Showcase
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, with funding from the National Science Foundation, supports students and faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to participate in the Making & Innovation Showcase. The showcase is designed to provide an opportunity for students to showcase the talent and innovation at their institution.
Each year, participating teams design and implement prototypes using hardware and software to address one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (below). For the annual Showcase students and faculty receive funds to travel to Washington, D.C. and engage in workshops focused on invention, intellectual property protection, and communication.
Parikh calls for decisive and lasting action to declare the importance of Black lives, voices, and contributions to all aspects of our society.
PHOTO: ROBB COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO
A view from my basement
editorial by aaas ceo Sudip parikh
In the 26 June edition of Science Magazine, AAAS CEO reflects on his first 90 days in this new position, and how generation-defining issues such as COVID-19, racial injustice, and police brutality have impacted his tenure. He also speaks to how this is an opportunity for science, and AAAS specifically are at the forefront to take action now.
The Emerging Researchers National conference and HBCU Making & Innovation Showcase are highlighted in this article. Below is a snippet from the article:
“When we gathered in Seattle in February to envision tomorrow's Earth, most of us had no idea how the tomorrows we were about to experience would change our Earth forever. COVID-19 is now a global pandemic that has infected more than 7 million people, killed more than 400,000, and fundamentally changed the way the world operates. The tragic and needless deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have brought to the fore the need for decisive and lasting action to declare the importance of Black lives, voices, and contributions to all aspects of our society—and, central to our work at AAAS, to the STEM ecosystem.
Almost every generation has arrived at similar moments of opportunity born of tragedy. AAAS is uniquely positioned as an organization to be at the forefront of these generation-defining issues, and we are taking action to make sure these moments do not slip away.
Science, engineering, and medicine are not immune to the discrimination, subjugation, and silencing of minority people and voices. We are too often unwitting perpetuators of the status quo, and the reasons are deeply ingrained in the systems that govern the conduct of these fields. When we hold up a mirror to the scientific enterprise, we see that it is not only politicians and law enforcement that need to be reminded that Black lives matter.”
Students present their talents as they pitch their innovations at the third annual HBCU Making & Innovation Showcase in Washington, D.C., in February 2020. | Michael J. Colella for AAAS
The 29 May edition of Science Magazine features an article on the 2020 HBCU Making and Innovation Showcase.
View Article here: https://www.aaas.org/news/diverse-students-display-inventions-hbcu-showcase
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2020 AWARD WINNING TEAMS
1st Place: Morehouse College: The Guardian Network
Team members: Nicolette Barriffe, Stephen Seymour, Leoul Tilahun
Advisor: Ayodeji Oyesanya
2nd Place: Philander Smith College: THYFZ
Team members: Darren Butler, Faruq Hammed, Utkarsh Goyal,
Sam Davis Omekera
Advisor: Suzan Anwar
3rd Place: Morehouse College: WayFinder
Team members: Carter Bowdoin, Lewis Campbell, Donte Harris
Advisor: Ayodeji Oyesanya
2020 making and Innovation showcase Agenda
Thursday, February 6th
5:00pm – 5:45pm Maker Orientation
Friday, February 7th
10:00am – 11:00am The Power of Team: From Invention to Entrepreneurship
11:00am – 12:00pm Career Pathways
1:30pm – 3:30pm Understanding the Business of Entrepreneurship - Students
1:30pm – 3:30pm The Ins and Outs of Technology Transfer - Faculty
4:00pm – 6:00pm Protecting Your Intellectual Property - Students
Saturday, February 8th
9:00am – 11:00am HBCU Maker Showcase – Pitch Competition
2020 making and Innovation showcase
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, with support from the National Science Foundation, will support students and faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to participate in the HBCU Making & Innovation Showcase. The showcase will coincide with the Emerging Researchers Network Conference and take place on February 6-8, 2020 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The showcase is designed to provide an opportunity for students to showcase the talent and innovation at their institution.
To participate in the showcase, teams (3-5 students and a faculty member) should identify a problem in their local community that addresses one of the UN’s Sustainable Developmental Goals. Teams interested in participating must identify one team member to complete the online application. That team members should upload a 2-page PDF or power point presentation. Details should include who the team members are, what the project does, who the project is for, and how the project addresses one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Projections can be new designs or one developed in the previous academic year. The deadline for the application is 11:59pm EST, October 31, 2019.
Teams will be notified of acceptance via email on November 18, 2019.
Accepted teams (team members and faculty member) will be required to register for the 2020 ERN Maker Showcase between November 18 - December 13, 2019. Accepted teams (team members and faculty member) will receive a travel award that covers the ERN conference registration fee, housing, airfare, and ground transportation travel to Washington, D.C.
For complete information and to apply for the showcase, visit the website at: HBCU Making & Innovation Showcase
2019 making and Innovation showcase
In February 2019, 16 student teams participated in the 2019 HBCU Making & Innovation Showcase in Washington, DC. The two-day event featured welcome remarks from Arthur P. McMahan, Senior Associate Director, White House Initiative on HBCUs, and workshops from the US Patent and Trademark Office, National Science Foundation, and successful entrepreneurs and inventors. Each prototype was evaluated by a panel of judges and the three highest rated teams were recognized.
Participating Institutions
Lincoln University of Missouri
Morgan State
Spelman College
Morehouse College
Clark Atlanta University
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Hampton University
Xavier University of Louisiana
Coppin State University
North Carolina A&T State University
Central State University
Grambling University
Johnson C. Smith
Alabama A&M
Tuskegee University
Bowie State University
