STEM Examples and People

‘Real World’ STEM Examples

Bike made out of recycled cardboard

Biodegradable Plastic Water Bottle

Plastic Bottle Lamps

Biodegradable Plates Are Edible

Sea Bin: Ocean cleaning machine:

Fish Life Jacket

Refish: Low cost air filter inspired by nature

https://biomimicry.org/solution-seekers/

Seed-filled balls are helping save the Earth’s forests

Streets are being painted white

Vertical Farms

Shampoo bottle “ventilators” helping children survive pneumonia.

Buildings made from paper by Shigeru Ban

The man who grows furniture

Bicycle Elevator

The World’s First Rotating Skyscraper

Recycling with Magpies

3D Printing STEM Examples

3D Printed Reef

3D printed ribs for a cancer patient

3D Printed Pottery

3D Printed House

3D Printed Prosthetic Hands

See CSIRO website for more examples of 3D printing: https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/MF/Areas/Metals/Lab22/3D-printed-jet-engine

Young people using STEM skills to solve problems:

Ann Hollow: torch powered by the heat from your hand.

Richard Turere: invention to protect farms from predators in Kenya

Molly Steer: Straws No More

America Hernandez, Aracely Chavez, Daniela Orozco, Kassandra Salazar, Kenia Shi, Maggie Mejia, Paola Valtierra, Patricia Cruz, Paulina Martinez, Prinsesa Alvarez, Veronica Gonzalez, and Wendy Samoyoa: Created a Solar-Powered Tent to Tackle Homelessness

More information: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/girls-invent-solar-powered-tent-stem/ & https://mashable.com/2017/06/15/diy-girls-solar-powered-tent-homeless/#dtCy0lqcOSqB

Inspiring STEM Professionals

Dr Fiona Wood: Australian plastic surgeon and ‘Spray-on Skin’ Pioneer. Fiona Wood and Marie Stoner used tissue engineering technology to treat burns using ‘spray-on skin’. Dr Wood was the 2005 Australian of the Year. More information:
https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/honour-roll/?view=fullView&recipientID=108
https://www.fionawoodfoundation.com/about-us/professor-fiona-wood/

Emeritus Professor Alan Mackay-Sim: Biomedical scientist treating spinal cord injuries, 2017 Australian of the Year.

More information: https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/honour-roll/?view=fullView&year=2017&recipientID=1856

Science inquiry and experiment resources, including resources for teaching students to ask ‘good’ scientific questions. I use Professor Alan Mackay-Sim’s story as a stimulus for teaching students about questioning in science.

Maryam Mirzakani: mathematician who explored the dynamics and geometry of complex surfaces, she was a mathematics professor at Stanford University, and the first woman to win a Fields Medal (maths most prestigious prize), and enjoys solving difficult problems that may take months or years to solve. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/maryam-mirzakhanis-pioneering-mathematical-legacy ; https://www.wired.com/2014/08/maryam-mirzakhani-fields-medal/ ; https://www.nature.com/articles/549032a

Dr Katie Bouman: computer scientist whose algorithm made the historic image of a black hole possible. She was among a team of 200 researchers who contributed to the breakthrough. Credit and full articles: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/11/katie-bouman-black-hole-photo ; https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-04-11/black-hole-event-horizon-telescope-five-things-you-might-miss/10993112

Professor Rose Amal: Australian chemical engineer currently researching how to use sunlight to transform carbon dioxide into a sustainable and renewable source of fuel. 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. More information:

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/rose-amal-using-sunshine-to-create-alternative-fuels-20180608-p4zkaa.html

https://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/news/professor-rose-amal-at-the-forefront-of-chemical-engineering

Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician who calculated and analysed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon. https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography ; https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Johnson-mathematician

Monique Hollick: South Australian Space Systems Engineer. Monique was recognised as an Emerging Space Leader in 2018, she has published a paper Space Weather (she was the lead author) and presented at the Lunar and Small Bodies Graduate Conference at NASA Ames in 2014. More information:

http://www.afc.com.au/news/2016-11-15/planets-align-for-hollick ; http://www.iafastro.org/iaf-emerging-space-leaders-2018/

Roma Agrawal: structural engineer, who has designed bridges, skyscrapers and sculptures. She worked with a team to design the tallest tower in western Europe. More information:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/feb/11/roma-agrawal-structural-engineers-are-unsung-heroes-interview-shard

Dr Chris Matthews: from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Maths Alliance, explains how maths is everywhere and how we can change mindsets about maths to better respond to children’s natural curiosity

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: astronomer who discovered that stars are made mainly of hydrogen and helium and established that stars could be classified according to their temperatures. Her achievements include being a full professor at Harvard, chairman of the astronomy department, she wrote a thesis which was described as “undoubtedly the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy”, and she was also an author of a number of books.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecilia-Payne-Gaposchkin
https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201501/physicshistory.cfm

Equality in STEM education

Be aware of unconscious bias: Dr Carol Newall and colleagues found that teachers used less scientific talk when they were teaching a girl.
Have role models close to their age such as successful girls in science at high school, so they can imagine themselves as scientists in the near future.
Model a positive attitude towards maths and science
Encourage children to join in non-stereotypical activities during preschool and primary school years.

Foster self-confidence and self-efficacy for female students, who are typically less confident than their male peers.
Effort and appropriate experiences, rather than natural ability, are mainly responsible for success in the STEM disciplines. Therefore, praise effort and reasoning to a greater degree than correct answers.
Develop reasoning skills through putting the emphasis on the process, not just product. Encourage female students to make reasoned conjectures about problems, to explore varied approaches to STEM tasks, and to explain and justify their work.
Make connections so students see the practical value of the STEM knowledge and skills they learn in school.

Set up collaborative groups for success:
- put in place measures to ensure equal and fair student participation;
- mixed-gender groups, but avoid placing only one girl in a small group, even if that results in having one or more all-male groups. Monitor and rotate these groups regularly

References: Article: “Girls and boys are taught science differently, new study finds”; STEM: What’s holding females back? ; “Strategies for Educators to Support Females in STEM”