University of Cincinnati
PROJECTS | 2020
LIFEBRIK
Cece Favorito, Maneesh Chidambram, Samuel Paul
A soil brick composed of 5 layers: mineral, carbon, profile, biota, and cover, Lifebrik is meant to simplify urban agriculture and make it more accessible to people who want to start their own urban gardens.
https://lifebrik.wixsite.com/welovesoil
Finalist Team + Outstanding Field Research Prize Winner
SweatLogic
Kshitij Chaudhary, Dianna Hufford, Fadhil Hussain, and Paul Kellar
SweatLogic incorporates biosensor technology with responsive athletic material to address the performance needs of athletes in the form of sweat biosensors embedded in compression clothing products.
instructors
Nandita Baxi Sheth
Nandita Baxi Sheth is an educator, artist, and researcher who navigates sites of intersection between art & design and science & technology. She has taught Art Education Courses and currently teaches a Trans Disciplinary Honors Course in collaboration with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences called Sticky Innovation, which participated in the 2019 international Biodesign Challenge. She is co-director of the Strange Tools Research Lab at UC. Nandita has a BA in Architectural Studies, English, Art, Art History (Rice University), Master of Community Planning, and Master of Visual Art Education from UC/DAAP. She is currently a doctoral student with the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA). Her research interests include: application of diverse arts based inquiry methods to consider “wicked problems”; research application of affect theory methodologies; and exploring connections between mindfulness and aesthetic theories.
Dr. Whitney Gaskins
Dr. Whitney Gaskins is the Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement in the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science, the only African-American female currently teaching in the faculty of the College of Engineering. Whitney earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, her Masters of Business Administration in Quantitative Analysis, and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering/Engineering Education. In her role as Assistant Dean, Whitney has revamped the summer bridge program to increase student support and retention as well as developed and strengthened partnerships in with local area school districts to aid in the high school to college pathway. In 2009, she founded The Gaskins Foundation, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to educate and empower the African American community. Her foundation recently launched the Cincinnati STEMulates year round K-12 program, which is a free-of-charge program that will introduce more students to Math and Science. She was named the 2017 K12 Champion by the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA).