Reinvented Magazine: Issue No. 2

REINVENTED

LADIES WHO HACK: Limor Fried

TEAM CREDITS Editor in Chief Caeley Looney

COO

Natalie Hahn

CFO

Erin Mitchell

CMO

Lavanya Sharma

Writing Directors Alice Ao Aparna Rajesh Emily Miller Vilina Mehta

Finance

Madeline Feigles

Operations Merrill Keating Peyton Paulson Rachell Frank

Marketing

Daniela Markazi Rachel Weeks Ria Vora

Writing

Abigail Johnson Hana Gabrielle Bidon Madeleine Salem Meghana Krishna Sanjana Yeddula Sara Kazemi Sona Popat

Creative

Avika Patel Christine Ao Estrella Popoca Hariti Patel

Ask Gloria

Gloria Kimbwala

DIY Section

Issue No. 2 December 2019 In 2018, recent college graduate Caeley Looney realized the need for a magazine geared towards women in STEM. After recognizing the fact that a vast majority of media today focuses on makeup, fashion, and celebrities for young girls, Caeley set out to create a magazine that focuses on her passions: science, technology, engineering, and math. Thus, the idea for Reinvented Magazine was born.

After pitching the idea to the National Center for Women and Information Technology’s (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Facebook Group and receiving a tremendous response, a team of like-minded young women from all across the nation was formed and the project kicked off. The next year was full of exciting achievements and firsts for Reinvented Magazine, including a fully-funded Women You Should Fund crowdfunding campaign, exclusive interviews, achieving 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and, of course, printing their first issue.

While most people know that there is a lack of women in STEM fields, most don’t understand how real this issue is. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women make up only 29% of the science and engineering workforce. That’s why our founder urges that, “in order to see a change in the professional world, we need to start at the beginning by showing our daughters, sisters, and friends female role models in STEM fields at a young age.”

Reinvented Magazine does exactly that. Our mission is to reinvent the general perception of women in STEM fields while inspiring interest in STEM for young women nationwide.

From sharing the stories and experiences of groundbreaking ladies in the field to reporting the latest news in science and technology, we hope to pave the way for future generations of women to become leading pioneers of STEM. We also want to ensure that everyone has access to our content, including girls in lowincome and rural areas without consistent access to computers. That’s why we set up our One-for-One program which allows us to donate one magazine for every one magazine bought.

The general notion of science, technology, engineering, and math as being predominantly masculine fields is something that has needed to change for a long time now, but there is only one way to truly change something - you need to reinvent it.

Beauty and the Bolt

Stay connected with us

Special Thanks Kate Pickle Ruthe Farmer Sphero Wogrammer James Cornett

2 | TEAM CREDITS AND INFORMATION

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Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

Firstly, I wanted to let you all know that finding the words to write in my letter to everyone was not easier the second time around. I'm still struggling to pluck out the right ones, and while the wise words of Michael Scott are still in my mind, since the release of Issue One I have finished watching The Office (for at least my twentieth time) and have moved back to watching Parks and Recreation (for my tenth time). So this issue's quote comes from none other than Leslie Knope.

"I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself."

Over the last few months the Reinvented team and I have been given the opportunity to travel all over the country to share our story and spread the word about our initiative to give young girls positive, female role models in STEM. At each event I was honored to speak to and alongside some of my role models, and I focused entirely on the enormous impacts that each of these empowering women have made during their careers and never thought twice about the work I was doing here with this magazine.

After getting off the stage at CSforALL, I was met with an overwhelming number of people running up to me and the Reinvented booth, not only reassuring me that I did great up there but asking questions about my story, as if it was anywhere near as inspiring as CEO of Girl Scouts Sylvia Acevdeo's. In those moments, the only thing I felt was confused. My self doubt and lack of self-confidence told me that my story was insignificant, that it was just like anyone else's, but the truth is that it isn't.

Like Leslie Knope declares, you should be inspired by your own story and be proud of all the things you accomplish, both big and small. If there is anything that I've learned while putting together this issue it's that everyone's story is significant, and everyone's story deserves to be told. Whether you're barely out of high school or you're the founder of one of the tech industry's most notable companies, your story and your voice demand to be heard.

My favorite thing about being Editor in Chief of Reinvented Magazine is getting to talk to and listen to the stories of all the incredible women we interview. From Megan Smith to Limor Fried to Merritt Moore and Megha Jain, every quote and every line reminds me why I chose to become an aerospace engineer and why I chose to start this initiative. Reinvented knows that every story needs to be told, and it is humbling to be the organization that gets to bring them into the spotlight.

I know that many of you might be thinking the same thing I was, that your story is insignificant. I encourage you to just give it a try, your story will inspire more girls than you think. Maybe you're thinking that your story hasn't even started yet. Well, that's what Reinvented Magazine is here for - to help you figure out where to begin.

To Infinity & Beyond,

Caeley Looney Editor in Chief

P.S. HI MOM!

3 | LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: CAELEY LOONEY

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C O N T E N T S

5 Accessibility in Tech

11 First All-Female Spacewalk

15 60 Everyday Changemakers Advice Column

39 Females in FIRST Robotics

31

Limor Fried

51 DIY

MAKING TECH ACCESIBLE FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES Although great strides have been made in recent years, technology still has a long way to go in terms of accessibility.

Technology enables people to solve all kinds of problems and shape the world. However, people with disabilities are severely underrepresented in tech fields, making the majority of technology inaccessible for this marginalized population. There are very few people with disabilities who are designing these technologies, so the needs of disabled individuals are often overlooked in the design process.

Did You Know That...

Accessibility in Computer Science Education There are various issues that make CS education inaccessible or unwelcoming to students with disabilities. One issue is that there are few accessible tools for learning CS. According to Brianna Blaser, a coordinator for the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) at the University of Washington, most programming tools from kindergarten through 12th grade are inaccessible to visually impaired students who use a screen reader, a program that reads aloud the content of a web page.

THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION REPORTS THAT one in four American adults are disabled; SOME OF WHOM MAY NEED ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TO NAVIGATE THE INTERNET. Teachers and professors need to support students from all backgrounds so these students can also enjoy computers to solve today’s toughest challenges and ensure that the solutions are representative of all kinds of people.

Approaches to increase accessibility may involve making artificial intelligence less biased against those who do not make eye contact during a video interview, or making websites accessible to those who use screen readers.

Technology has the power to make the world more accessible to all kinds of people, whether they have disabilities or not.

"Technology has the power to make the world more accessible to all kinds of people, whether they have disabilities or not."

PC: ibmphoto24 via Flickr

Through the AccessCSforAll project, Blaser collaborates with Quorum, a company that made the first evidence-oriented programming language. This programming language uses evidence from research about which design choices most effectively make K-12 CS education more accessible to those with disabilities. For example, the inclusion of notation and blocks that help students visualize coding has proven to make programming easier to use for those with disabilities. So far, there is a Quorum version for AP Computer Science Principles, which gives high school students an introduction to computer science and an opportunity to earn college credit, but it’s the only accessible AP CSP course. Although Quorum is a notable exception, it’s still not enough to help students who use screen readers.

5 | MAKING TECH ACCESSIBLE FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

For instance, Meredith Boyce, an accessible technology advocate, found it difficult to enjoy computer science in school once she went blind at age 14. She is now part of different accessibility initiatives, such as AccessComputing, CSforALL, and eSSENTIAL Accessibility. She states that the Web is “broken,” meaning that there is web technology that uses CSS or JavaScript that is inaccessible to use with screen readers. Furthermore, other issues, such as tech accessibility for hardware and braille literacy, also inhibit individuals with disabilities from enjoying computer science. Addressing these problems can help blind people, especially since screen readers are not reliable for everything.

Another issue is that students with disabilities are often discouraged from taking CS courses for various reasons.

Teachers, who often shape the way students perceive subjects like computer science, may not understand how to work with students with disabilities such as autism, learning disabilities, and attention deficits. Having a teacher who fosters inclusivity in early CS learning would benefit everyone, especially students with disabilities. Teachers can help students with learning disabilities become more independent problem solvers by providing them with additional support in the beginning and gradually removing the support once students build their confidence and skills.

PC: United States Mission Geneva's Photostream via Flickr

6 | MAKING TECH ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

When people with disabilities are involved in the development process of a product, it forces people to shift their perception of how their product works.

Designing Tech For Everyone When designing technology, developers should take into account as many different types of users as possible, including those with disabilities. Technologists need to ensure that principles of universal design, like equitable use and low physical effort, are implemented into the design of their product, whether it is a mobile application or website. Philip Wismer, a deaf person who also has vision loss, uses the large text functionality to navigate through mobile applications.

Wismer explains that “the app does show the large text, but then it messes up with the interface, so I can’t tap where I want to tap because the words get in the way.”

This is just one example of an ineffective, inaccessible design element. Other flaws may occur when HTML basics are not inclusive. According to Mikey Ilagan, a former accessibility specialist at Think Company, design flaws like poor color contrast for those with color blindness or low visual acuity, were not considered in the user interaction with keyboard controls. Ilagan explains that "sites usually fail because people intentionally or unintentionally miss the target on HTML fundamentals."

These design flaws are largely due to the fact that people with disabilities are underrepresented in the tech industry.

McDevitt stated that even if the inaccessibility is intentional or an oversight, it is arduous to produce products that are accessible when you are designing for an abstract concept or stereotype of a disability. When people with disabilities are involved in the development process of a product, it forces people to shift their perception of how their product works.

Atheir Sharif, an accessibility consultant and founder of EvoXLabs, an initiative that serves the community of Philadelphia through accessible web technologies for people with vision impairment, states that developers and designers tend to make assumptions about what people with disabilities need or how they navigate the application without conducting studies with people who actually have disabilities. (At the very least, ask a person with a disability!)

In addition, designers and developers need to learn about the seven principles of universal design and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which are not often taught in formal education, to enable people of all abilities to use technology.

PC: Phil Murphy via Flickr

By considering people with disabilities in the design process, technologists can develop products that are accessible for this marginalized group of people. If you are or know a person with a disability interested in tech, below are some opportunities to get involved.

Opportunities For People With Disabilities Are you a person with a disability? Check out these opportunities for undergraduate students, working professionals, and more!

BY: HANA GABRIELLE BIDON

1. Disability:IN 2. Lime Connect 3. Workforce Recruitment Program 4. AAPD Summer Internship Program 7 | MAKING TECH ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

HISTORICAL FIGURES: NETTIE STEVENS

Portrait of Nettie Stevens

Eggs fertilized by sperm with a large chromosome resulted in female offspring, while eggs fertilized by sperm with a small chromosome resulted in male offspring. This, Stevens concluded, implied that sex is hereditary and is passed on through chromosomes. She also determined that an offspring’s sex depends on whether the sperm contributes either a small or large chromosome to the fertilization Stevens was born in Vermont in 1861, during the Civil War. process. These two types of chromosomes observed would During this period of time, it was quite uncommon for a woman later come to be known as the sex chromosomes, X and Y. to receive an education, much less enter a profession. However, Stevens’ father, a carpenter, made sure to invest the money he earned into his daughter’s early education. Stevens proved to be a brilliant student who performed at the top of her class. After completing her basic schooling, she taught high school for three terms before going on to pursue higher education.

We’ve all read about Thomas Hunt Morgan and his Drosophila flies in our biology textbooks. But someone you may have not heard about, whose discoveries were instrumental in Morgan’s development of the chromosomal theory of heredity, was actually a student of his - a female geneticist named Nettie Stevens.

After graduating from Bryn Mawr College with a Ph.D. at the age of 39, Stevens worked as a research assistant for the Carnegie Institute, where she investigated the process of sex determination in mealworms. In her research, she discovered that male mealworms could produce two different types of sperm: one type containing one large chromosome and the other type containing one small chromosome; conversely, female mealworm eggs only contained one large chromosome.

PC: GYassineMrabetTalk

8 | HISTORICAL FIGURES: NETTIE STEVENS

Her single-mindedness and devotion, combined with keen powers of observation, united to a well-balanced judgment, account, in part, for her remarkable accomplishment. ~ Thomas Hunt Morgan, research partner

She published her findings in 1905 in a paper titled “Studies in Spermatogenesis with Especial Reference to the ‘Accessory Chromosome,’” making history with her breakthrough that ended the extensive debate over how sex was determined.

Photo Courtesy of Encyclopædia Britannica

Her research not only laid the foundation for modern genetic studies by supporting Mendelian and chromosomal theories of inheritance, but also pioneered the expansion of the fields of cytology, genetics, and embryology.

Stevens’ story is groundbreaking in that she was one of the first American women to be recognized for her contributions to a scientific field.

A human male karyotype highlighting the XY chromosome: the chromosome that decides sex

Nettie peering through a microscope

Over the course of her research career, she produced 38 scientific papers on topics ranging from cytology to physiology. One paper she published even won her a $1,000 prize after being selected as the best scientific paper by a woman at the time.

Unfortunately, her successful career in research was cut short in 1912 when she passed away at the age of 50 due to breast cancer. Although her career as a scientist was relatively shortlived, both the impact her research had on our modern knowledge of heredity, and her legacy as a pioneer for women's involvement in science will never be forgotten.

BY: MADELEINE SALEM

9 | HISTORICAL FIGURES: NETTIE STEVENS

2020 Adult Space Camp Scholarship Geek Partnership Society is offering a scholarship that will cover the cost of one session of Space Academy for Educators, run by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, including airfare for one educator.

See our website for rules, eligibility requirements, and the application.

Submission window for the 2020 award is October 20, 2019 to January 20, 2020. https://geekpartnership.org/ programs/spacecamp/

PC: NASA

WOMEN MAKE HISTORY: FIRST ALL-FEMALE SPACE WALK

PC: NASA

On October 18th, 2019, two women took a bounding leap and completed the first all-female spacewalk. Astronauts Dr. Jessica Meir and Christina Koch made history after spending a total of seven hours floating outside the International Space Station (ISS).

These women took part in one of the most exciting - and most important - aspects of visiting the ISS: a spacewalk. A spacewalk, technically referred to as an Extravehicular Activity (EVA), is when astronauts put on external astronaut suits and float in the vacuum of space while tethered to the ISS. A total of 421 spacewalks have been conducted by astronauts of all nationalities and genders, typically for scientific or maintenance purposes, like repairing the outside of the station. Until Koch and Meir stepped off the ISS, spacewalks had only consisted of all-male or mixed gender teams.

During this spacewalk, the 421st, the women fixed the battery charge-discharge unit, which collects heat and light from the sun to store power for the ISS. The endeavor had been exciting for both Koch, who had conducted three other spacewalks before, and Meir, who had previously never

12 | WOMEN MAKE HISTORY: FIRST ALL-FEMALE SPACEWALK

participated in a spacewalk. They had both trained together as astronauts for six years and prepared for their historical moment together. Meir captured her excitement upon her arrival on the ISS and reuniting with Koch, who was already on the ISS, by posting on social media. The two women received lots of support from past female astronauts and other space enthusiasts. Even President Donald Trump contacted the women during the EVA to express his congratulations for their incredible achievement. These women seemed to have the whole world behind them as they stepped off the ISS and into the pages of history.

The spacewalk lasted a little over seven hours but was completed with little to no errors. In the position of CAPCOM, the head of communications during the activity, was Stephanie Wilson, a fellow female astronaut who declared the mission a success. Wilson was one of many female astronauts cheering Koch and Meir on during the event. Tracy Caldwell Dyson, a former Space Shuttle Mission Specialist, stated in response to the all-female spacewalk, “Hopefully, this will now be considered normal.�

Although Meir and Koch were the two women that made

history on this spacewalk, NASA’s initial plan for the 421st EVA was slightly different. Originally, the first female spacewalk was supposed to take place earlier in the year.

Koch was scheduled to conduct the walk with Anne McClain, an astronaut aboard the ISS at the time. However, an issue concerning McClain’s spacesuit caused her to cancel her participation, so Meir was able to join Koch to make history instead.

Koch had completed two ISS space missions before Expedition 61 (the current ISS mission) having entered into the astronaut program in 2013. She holds two Bachelor’s degrees, one in Electrical Engineering and one in Physics, and has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering as well.

Meir is completing her first ISS mission on Expedition 61 and is scheduled to complete the next ISS mission, Expedition 62, as well. Like Koch, Meir joined NASA in 2013 and holds multiple degrees. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology, a Master’s degree in Space Studies, and a Doctorate in Marine Biology. Reinvented Magazine had the opportunity to speak with Natalie Cluck, a NASA flight controller in training, about her experiences as a woman pursuing a career in space and how inspiring it was to hear of Koch and Meir’s accomplishment. She is a flight controller in training, and studies the technology of the ISS systems.

PC: NASA

generation to see women in their fields achieving giant leaps as the norm rather than the exception. It's important for young girls to see female representation in their fields. As a young person in the beginning of my career, it's still incredibly inspirational for me to see females both in space and on the When asked about Koch and Meir, Cluck told the magazine ground supporting human spaceflight. The two operators in about her future hope for all women in STEM. “I look forward Mission Control sitting on console during the spacewalk from to the day when an all-female spacewalk doesn't make the my group were both female as well." news and is considered another ‘normal’ work day in human spaceflight. Until that day comes, every milestone is a celebration. It's a step closer for the next

"as a young person in the beginning of my career, it's still

incredibly inspirational for me to see females both in space and on the ground supporting human spaceflight." ~ Natalie Cluck, NASA Flight Controller in training PC: NASA

BY: ABIGAIL JOHNSON

13 | WOMEN MAKE HISTORY: FIRST ALL-FEMALE SPACEWALK

The excitement about this groundbreaking event wasn’t just felt by women in STEM careers; the spacewalk impacted individuals across the globe. Girls everywhere watched astronauts Meir and Koch face the odds and make history as the first female duo spacewalkers. Schools across the nation showed their support and cheered in response to the mission’s success. The two women were sure to share their success with others who helped them achieve the opportunity. “We don't want to take too much credit because there have been many other female spacewalkers before us,” Meir told the President during their spacewalk. “There's been a long line of female scientists, explorers, engineers, and astronauts. We have followed in their footsteps to get to where we are today." With many more future accomplishments to come, women of all ages have the

opportunity to make their mark on history and, eventually, other planets!

Meir and Koch, along with other female astronauts, are inspiring the new generation of women who will complete these incredible space missions. Meir expressed her goal of being a role model for women interested in working in a STEM field. According to CNN, Meir stated, “There are more females and more diversity in general in STEM fields that has led to a higher percentage of women in astronaut classes. To me, that kind of gender equality and inclusion is the way to get the job done for a successful mission." Koch also adds to the support for women in science by stating, “I will probably at least know the first woman to walk on the moon. They will carry the hopes and dreams of everyone to explore with them."

"There's been a long line of female scientists, explorers, engineers, and astronauts."

PC: NASA

14 | WOMEN MAKE HISTORY: FIRST ALL-FEMALE SPACEWALK

E V E R Y D A Y

CHANGEMAKERS

While growing up in Thailand, Pae Natwilai’s top priorities in selecting a career were good work-life balance and a decent salary. As was customary in Thai culture, she was encouraged to specialize in one field early on rather than pursuing a multidisciplinary education. Having excelled at science and mathematics as a child, she decided to become an engineer, although she was not yet sure what she wanted to build.

In 2011, Pae graduated near the top of her class at Chulalongkorn University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Afterward, she worked as an engineer in Thailand’s oil and gas industry for several years. Though she was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to critical projects, the work quickly became repetitive, and she craved more opportunities to learn through her daily tasks.

“The more I did, the less I learned. I wanted to feel challenged by the projects I was working on.”

With support from her supervisors, Pae eventually took on a new project optimizing garbage disposal systems for the general public. In search of a user-friendly solution, she engaged directly with stakeholders to learn more about their bottlenecks and desired improvements to the system.

16 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: PAE NATWILAI

PAE NATWILAI: YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES

Pae’s research led her to design a sliding mechanism to help move dumpsters in and out of facilities for easier collection, an achievement she credits with sparking her passion for applying design thinking to engineering.

“The project pushed me to talk to people and empathize with their frustrations. The fix ended up being just a small tweak to the original product, which highlighted the power of approaching engineering problems through user-centered design.”

Seeking further opportunities to learn about creative problem solving, Pae enrolled in the master’s degree program in Global Innovation Design at Imperial College London. While completing her degree, Pae created a “magic wand” prototype that could be pointed in the air to direct drones on where to fly. As she neared graduation, an Imperial College alumna who had been her mentor encouraged her to start her own company to commercialize drone software. Already entertaining a job offer from Microsoft Research, Pae was unsure whether a young female immigrant like herself could really make it as an entrepreneur in the U.K. “I never pictured myself as a founder - how could someone

like me, a student with no funding or industry contacts in the U.K., start my own company here?"

However, she remembers that alumna also telling her, “if you don’t believe in yourself, at least believe me when I tell you that you have what it takes.”

Today, Pae still lives in London and is Founder and CEO of Trik, a software company that uses drone imagery and artificial intelligence to create 3D models used for structural inspection. Her main clients include government agencies and utilities, whose responsibilities include repetitive inspection tasks that are more efficiently performed by robots and software. Though she spends a significant portion of her time speaking to partners and investors these days, she still uses her engineering background every day to present her product and answer related technical questions.

In 2018, Pae was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for European Industry. As 1 of only 8 women on the list, she encourages other women to take a chance on themselves, no matter how daunting the task before them may be.

"IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, at least believe me when I tell you

THAT YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES." “Women often diminish their accomplishments and assume that they need supervision, even if they are more than qualified to do things on their own. If I can start with nothing and build my own company from the ground up, anyone else can do it as well.”

Whatever the future holds for Trik, Pae’s proudest achievement is believing in herself enough to build not only a critical piece of software, but a company and a new life for herself in the U.K. Her story showcases the power of female mentorship, as well as the powerful effect that words of encouragement can have on a career.

This story was written by Charlotte Kiang, Wogrammer Journalism Fellow, as part of a series for Forbes on the woman engineers of Forbes 30 Under 30. Forbes 30 Under 30 is Forbes Magazine’s annual celebration of the brightest game-changers under the age of 30. To learn more, visit Forbes.com.

BY: CHARLOTTE KIANG

17 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: PAE NATWILAI

TECH ENTREPRENEUR TALKS INSPIRATION & CAREER ADVICE Growing up, Lindsey Cross wasn’t very fond of STEM. An athlete with a love for writing, Lindsey had career aspirations unrelated to math or science.

“When I was younger, my goal was to become the first woman in the NBA or a journalist,” Lindsey laughs.

Though she has yet to achieve NBA fame, the Aurora, Colorado native has made a name for herself in the tech arena. Now a mechanical design engineer for Sphero, Lindsey develops robotic toys that change the way kids experience coding. She is the founder and owner of a tech consulting firm that helps inventors bring their products to life. In her free time, Lindsey also mentors youth interested in tech, sharing career and life advice.

Lindsey's interest in math and physics was sparked by her high school calculus teacher, a former NASA engineer with a

18 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: LINDSEY CROSS

passion for STEM that rubbed off on her.

“At first, I was almost ashamed to be into physics and math,” Lindsey says. “I didn’t really think that kind of stuff was cool.

But my calculus teacher would get so excited about the topics he taught that I couldn’t help but to share in that feeling.”

Upon graduation, Lindsey enrolled at the University of Southern California. During her first semester, she befriended Kara, an aspiring aeronautical engineer who lived in her dorm. Lindsey became intrigued by the projects Kara worked on and was fascinated by the concepts she learned in class. Inspired further by the growing aerospace industry in the Los Angeles area, Lindsey graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering four years later. “I’ve loved engineering ever since and I’ve never looked back,” she says.

Lindsey spent the first six years of her career designing and

testing mechanical assemblies at SEAKR, a spacecraft electronics supplier in the greater Denver area. Her role at SEAKR exposed her to the challenges and importance of manufacturing-focused design. Shortly after joining SEAKR, Lindsey also began attending local startup events where she networked with inventors and company founders.

“A lot of the founders I spoke to said they would really benefit from having a mechanical engineer on their team to help in areas like CAD (computer-aided design) and prototyping, but couldn’t really afford to hire one on full-time,” says Lindsey. “I realized there was a huge need in the market that wasn’t being filled.”

Lindsey began consulting on the side, helping startups refine product designs and navigate the manufacturing process. She eventually quit her full-time job at SEAKR to found Luhu Design, a consulting company aimed at helping early inventors navigate the mechanical design process, from initial concept generation to CAD model refinements to testing and manufacturing. Lindsey, who is the sole owner and lead designer for Luhu, is focused on helping inventors with little to no experience in prototyping.

" When you first start, you'll have a constant sense of imposter syndrome..."

“I had a client that was working on ski setups for the military,” says Lindsey. “He had a preliminary prototype and wanted to address various issues found during testing. We worked together for about a year and not only produced awesome prototypes that tested well, but also started up a small production run.”

About a year after launching Luhu, Lindsey applied for a fulltime position as a mechanical engineer for Sphero, a consumer robotics company working to create educational play experiences for kids. Though she was initially hesitant to commit to a full-time job with her hands full at Luhu, Lindsey had admired Sphero’s mission for years and missed the dynamic that came with a more structured job. Today, she works on the design of Sphero’s latest products. Working both in a managerial and technical capacity, Lindsey brainstorms problem-solving ideas every day.

“We come up with crazy ideas to solve problems in the learning and education sphere and whittle them down through research and testing to figure out what actually makes sense,” she says.

BY: MEGHANA KRISHNA

According to Lindsey, Sphero’s goal is to bring code to life in the simplest way possible for kids who are new to programming. The company develops robots that can be programmed through a smartphone app that enables users to instantly upload their code to a microcontroller via Bluetooth.

Sphero’s robots allow kids to see modifications in their code play out in real-time and debug with ease.

“Oftentimes, kids starting out in programming end up just staring at a screen,” says Lindsey. “We wanted to create something that would help blend coding with physical reality.”

As part of her day-to-day job, Lindsey works closely with industrial designers to ensure all products are manufacturable and cost-effective. She collaborates with electrical, systems, and software engineers to ensure the seamless integration and functionality of all products. She also works extensively in CAD. For now, consulting has taken a back seat to her full-time job.

However, Lindsey continues to dedicate herself to both efforts, taking on more consulting gigs during slower times of the year at Sphero. “Right now, the consulting project I’m working on takes about 10% of my time, but that's on top of giving 120% at Sphero,” says Lindsey. “I’m hoping to eventually use my experience to become a director of hardware and maybe a CTO.” Lindsey also reflected on the challenges she faced early in her career and shared advice for young people interested in tech: “Earning trust and respect from your coworkers takes time.

When you first start, you’ll have a constant sense of imposter syndrome. I had to believe that I was a good engineer and there was a reason I got hired in the first place,” she says.

According to Lindsey, the best way to learn the ins and outs of any facet of STEM is to tinker as much as possible. Learning to build and troubleshoot real-life projects will help teach crucial skills textbooks can’t.

“There are so many resources now on how to make fun projects. Learning the basics of how things come together is so valuable in this industry,” Lindsey says.

"Learning the basics of how things come together is so valuable in this industry."

19 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: LINDSEY CROSS

Christy Thompson and team at a food processing and manufacturing plant

CHRISTY THOMPSON: GETTING PAID TO PLAY WITH FOOD “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right,” is a quote by Henry Ford that Christy Thompson, Principal Engineer at General Mills, says has stuck with her for a very long time. It’s helped her find confidence and grow in her 18-year-long career at General Mills.

Growing up in Chicagoland, Thompson says she was always a good student. Since many of her family members went into medicine, she figured she would probably end up a doctor.

However, with her success in math and science in high school, she started at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign studying chemical engineering instead. Until part way through her sophomore year, she “didn’t understand how [her major applied] to anything” and wasn’t sure where her studies would lead her.

Then, Thompson was invited to an event hosted by an on-

20 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: CHRISTY THOMPSON

campus agriculture group. She says she originally went because of the free pizza but stayed to listen to how she could merge her current major in chemical engineering with food science. “That, for the first time since I started school, excited me,” she says.

“Directly impacting what you see on a product shelf - things you see that sustain you.” So she combined chemical engineering with food engineering and food science, started doing research, and graduated with both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in food and bioprocess engineering.

After graduation she started at General Mills as a production manager on third shift (overnight!), supervising the cereals made in West Chicago. That was where she realized her job involved so much more on top of what she’d learned in school; alongside needing to be very technically savvy about the products made in the plant, she needed to work with finance, research and development, and human resources to make sure everyone could meet their deadlines and support each other.

She was tasked with leading a union organization to deliver a quality product on time and safely, and in this cross-functional role, her soft skills like leadership and communication grew immensely.

Next, she moved into several technical roles. Thompson started as a Systems Engineer, becoming a subject matter expert on General Mills’ food extrusion capabilities (the process used to make your Cheerios, pasta, and other shaped foods!). Then she took an Operations Manager role, again utilizing her soft skills to advance the production of General Mills’ boxed dinners.

Next, she took an R&D role, where she used her food science and chemical engineering background to thrive. Thompson was then asked to lead an engineering organization. She walked into a vice president’s office, and he told her, “I have a job for you...

It’s going to be a lot of work. You’re going to go into an organization called Contract Manufacturing. You’re going to have to hire and fire people and set some limits. Do you want it?”

Long story short, she took it. This put her in charge of revamping General Mills’ co-manufacturing program, leading the plants outside of the General Mills organization that supported the company. This was a people position; she was in charge of hiring and firing people, justifying to vice presidents why she needed more money to hire employees, and explaining why she needed 20-40 million dollars to spend on capital equipment like machinery. From this role, she gained a better understanding of what she calls “influence management,” working to get a team on board with her ideas and plans while developing a strong relationship with each individual team member.

" Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right."

Christy volunteering with the nonprofit Elephantopia

Her strengths and passions continue outside of the workplace.

If she wasn’t an engineer, she says she’d be a large animal vet.

That wasn’t quite the path she took, but she’s been able to channel that passion into volunteerism through her work with a nonprofit called Elephantopia that sponsors and cares for elephants in Zambia. She even had the opportunity to take a leave of absence from General Mills and spend several months working at an elephant sanctuary, which she says is her plan after she retires.

This, alongside fitness, keeps her centered. Thompson is a boxer and taught boxing for a while outside of work. She’s also a runner, who finished the Dopey Challenge in 2016 (for our readers who haven't been to Disney World - that’s a 5K, then a 10K, then a half marathon, then a full marathon in the span of four days!). Highlighting her passion projects is exciting, especially to show that a work-life balance is an incredibly She also says, “I made a ton of mistakes. If there’s a book of important part of her career development. mistakes, I probably have all of them checked off.” Thompson felt this was important to highlight as “sometimes as women, Being successful and pleasing everyone were both things she we feel like [making mistakes] is a bad thing.” She said, as you worried about when she was starting out, but Thompson’s grow further in your career, “You find your strengths and you personal and professional growth is summed up perfectly by leverage [your] strengths and you find people who do what this final quote: “If you don’t control your own career, other you’re not good at. Luckily, the roles I’ve been in have leveraged people will control it for you,” she says. “Drive your own bus.

Make sure the seats you’re sitting in are the ones you want to my strengths and helped develop weaknesses into strengths.” sit in.”

She’s taken this into her current role as a Principal Engineer, working with manufacturing plants on developing the company’s natural and organic lines like Annie’s Organic.

Christy now works remotely, which is something she loves. She says influence management is incredibly important whether or not you’re physically in the office.

BY: ERIN MITCHELL

21 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: CHRISTY THOMPSON 19 | REFLECTIONS ON PRIDE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LYNN CONWAY

Megha Jain with her Gemini Tank Device demonstration

TOILET TALES:

A YOUNG ENGINEERS’S MISSION TO REVOLUTIONIZE WATER CONSERVATION Staring out of the car window during her family’s 2015 road trip to San Francisco, Megha Jain was shocked by how much California’s formerly vibrant landscape had deteriorated from the most recent drought. Raised in Los Angeles, Megha is no stranger to California’s dry seasons. But a 2014 statewide drought emergency, followed by the two hottest years on record in California history, resulted in unprecedented damage.

“I didn’t want to just watch California’s beautiful landscape wither away from the sidelines. I started to research water wastage to learn more about the impact human activities have on droughts,” says Megha. “I was surprised to learn how much water the average toilet wastes and how expensive water-saving options for toilets are.”

Megha’s newfound knowledge on the workings of toilets formed the inspiration behind her eighth-grade science project, where she explored methods to minimize the amount of water required per flush. Determined to create a viable solution to make toilets more eco-friendly, Megha spent the next four years developing swchit (pronounced “switch it”), an easy-to-install, user-friendly apparatus that

22 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: MEGHA JAIN

can help save nearly a gallon of water per flush.

Today, the 17 year-old and soon-to-be high school graduate is ready to begin manufacturing her product. Swchit is a small, dual-mode device that conserves water through suction. The device's handle is designed to be hooked on to toilet tank walls and users can adjust the amount of water used per flush or turn the device off completely with the flip of a switch. Settings can be customized to account for the capacity of a toilet as well as the nature of waste to save up to 0.8 gallons of water per flush.

Unlike dual-mode toilet tanks available on the market, Megha’s device can be installed without assistance in a matter of minutes. Though swchit is still in the pre-manufacturing phase, Megha anticipates the final product will cost about $50, while most other dual-mode tank options run at over $300.

She hopes to work with state legislators to explore the possibility of offering tax rebates to residents interested in purchasing the device. “Accessibility is huge,” says Megha. “It’s unfair to expect people to spend a ton of money just to save some water around the house. That’s why this product has the potential to make a real difference.”

Today, toilets comprise on average 12 percent of total household water consumption. If swchit were installed in just 10 percent of homes in Los Angeles alone, Megha calculates over 900,000 gallons of water could be saved daily. “Imagine the impact this device could have if implemented across the country and eventually across the world,” she says.

California isn’t alone in facing chronic drought or neardrought conditions. Throughout the last decade, regions of Africa and Asia have begun to desertify at an accelerated rate due to rising global temperatures. The trend is placing larger populations—particularly in underdeveloped regions—at heightened risk of facing Day Zero, when faucets run dry and tight restrictions are placed on municipal water distribution.

“I believe our most pressing global issue is growing resource insecurity. It’s so important to raise awareness about sustainability and break down ignorance about climate change,” says Megha.

According to Megha, small fixes make the biggest difference when it comes to saving water around the house. Though taking shorter showers and turning off the faucet while brushing teeth is a good start, water wastage is often traceable to less obvious sources. “It’s important to

MEGHA PLANS TO INITIATE A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN BY THE END OF THE YEAR to raise money for manufacturing

HOUSEHOLDS INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE SWCHIT TRIAL OR IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE PRODUCT CAN contact Megha through her website at swchit.com

BY: MEGHANA KRISHNA

“regularly check your appliances and other devices for faulty behavior. Things like leaky faucets can have a huge impact on water use. You can also buy tools to check where unnecessary water is being used and uncover other inefficiencies,” she advises.

Swchit is officially patent-pending, and Megha plans to initiate a Kickstarter campaign by the end of the year to raise money for manufacturing. Though she is still exploring her options, Megha is considering partnering with a company like Kohler to manufacture, market, and distribute swchit on a larger scale.

She hopes to study environmental engineering and computer science in college and eventually start her own green tech company and launch her product globally. In her free time, she plans to continue educating others about climate change through various platforms.

Megha credits much of her success to her family. Though her parents didn’t have much experience in business and product development, they helped connect Megha to resources that taught her the ins and outs of becoming a successful inventor.

She also cites Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as a role model. “His autobiography, Hit Refresh, taught me a lot about the power of passion in achieving your mission,” she says.

23| EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: MEGHA JAIN

THREE LIFE LESSONS FROM NEWTON’S THREE LAWS OF MOTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH QUANTUM BALLERINA MERRITT MOORE

Moore is both a quantum physicist and professional ballerina.

She graduated from Harvard University with honors in physics before going on to receive her Ph.D. in quantum optics from Oxford University. On top of that, she’s performed with the Zurich Ballet, Boston Ballet, English National Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, and London Contemporary Ballet Theatre.

Moore's experiences in both the scientific and artistic fields have taught her not only how to become a better scientist or dancer, but how to grow as a person and expand her perspective and outlook on life.

Who knew Newton’s three laws of motion could hold so much wisdom?

EVERY OBJECT IN A STATE OF UNIFORM MOTION WILL REMAIN IN THAT STATE OF MOTION UNLESS AN EXTERNAL FORCE ACTS ON IT Translation: Things will stay the same until you make the active and conscious effort to change them.

It's a commonly held belief that, in order to be successful in a field, one has to know what they want to do at a very young age and pursue it consistently and diligently throughout their life.

For example, many assume that the only people that succeed as

24 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: MERRITT MOORE

professional ballerinas are those who were wearing pointe shoes when they came out of the womb. So, as someone who started ballet at age thirteen and took her first physics class as a senior in high school, Moore has had to endure numerous comments:

{

"You can't pursue a career in physics!

You've started so late.", "You'll never be able to become a professional dancer if you go to college!", "You can't do a PhD and dance at the same time!", “It’s impossible to do all of that as a female!”

{

In the name of simplicity, people tend to view the world in binaries: black and white, good and bad, love and hate, male and female, art and science. When we come to a fork in the road, we are encouraged to choose one or the other. But Dr. Merritt Moore, a young woman known as the “quantum ballerina,” chose to pave her own path; a path on which she challenges, why not both?

And yet…she's accomplished everything people said she couldn't. Her drive and commitment to her passions have been the foundation for all her success, rather than the age at which she discovered those passions. The harmful mindset of feeling pressured to choose one's career interest at a ridiculously young age has discouraged many individuals who are already established in a career from pursuing new interests, fearing that it’s “too late” and “impossible” to accomplish anything significant in a new field. To combat that mindset, Moore had a few quotes she would reflect back on when going through tough times, one being: “Nothing is impossible. Possible just takes time.”

Doing both physics and ballet is only one way Moore has been trying to bring about change in people’s perceptions. She’s continued to push the intersection of dance and science with her residency at Harvard’s ArtLab, where she studies the future of artificial intelligence, especially in regards to dance.

“I was very inspired by how AI can be used to spark human creativity and open our eyes to possibilities we’ve never even seen before. AI just shows us a whole other world of solutions and strategies that can be applied to solving certain problems, and I think tapping into that with the arts is super exciting,” she explained enthusiastically. “For example, a lot of people like to say that ballet, as an art form, is dying. But I think, well, it’s because there’s no innovation! It’s very predictable beautiful, but predictable. But if it can be coupled with AI, which might come up with new movements or new patterns, then we can give life back to ballet by letting ourselves be inspired by that.”

FORCE IS EQUAL TO MASS TIMES ACCELERATION

“It was kind of a lonely journey for me, pursuing both dancing and art,” Moore thoughtfully explained.

“When I was doing one, I felt disloyal to the other. So I wanted to create a space where people could feel like they could celebrate the fact that they were doing two different things, receive support, and ask questions from others who had been in their place.” She hopes that later on, SASters will become a hub for connecting and creating collaborations for people who are pursuing both science and art.

All of Moore's accomplishments have been about ten years in the making. She serves as proof that the passion and deliberate diligence of one person can start a chain reaction that generates a force capable of bringing about true change.

Translation: The force needed to change something is generated through the amount of passion one has and the amount of time dedicated to a cause.

Moore had her first encounter with quantum physics as a college student. Wanting to obtain hands-on knowledge of physics instead of trying to absorb the content presented in lectures, she sought out a research opportunity at a professor’s condensed matter lab. Her newly-obtained knowledge of quantum gave purpose to the more basic aspects of physics she was learning in lectures.

Her fascination with quantum physics led her to one of the most memorable periods of her physics career: obtaining her Ph.D. in quantum optics at Oxford. She stayed at the lab for three weeks straight (and slept there too!) just to finish one of her experiments and acquire data no one had ever seen before.

Her experiment was generating and investigating large quantum states of light. She built a single-photon source, so that she had a high-power laser firing a light beam into a nonlinear crystal in a process called spontaneous parametric down conversion. This would create pairs of photons, which made measurement of and interference between particles easier.

The real-world applications of this experiment, Moore details, would include using single photons as quantum bits that could store and communicate information (as nothing travels faster than light). These could be used in potential quantum computers, quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation, and enhancing the precision of minuscule measurements.

Moore's unrelenting passion for and dedication to quantum physics has allowed her to make discoveries that could result in cutting-edge innovations.

Moore is now using her dual passion as inspiration for a good cause: SASters (Science Art Sisters) Squad, an online space she created in an attempt to encourage young girls to think about science in a more creative way.

BY: MADELEINE SALEM

25 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: MERRITT MOORE

FOR EVERY ACTION THERE IS AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION. Translation: You get out what you put in.

Moore acknowledges that being a physicist has ultimately helped her become a better ballerina. In the studio, she analyzes how she can use gravity and other natural forces to help her move her body instead of having to fight against them. Physics hasn’t just taught her how to be a better dancer, though; it’s also taught her a lot about being a resilient person.

“Newton’s Third Law of Motion also applies to life. I firmly believe that every hour of work put in will come back with an equal or better opportunity,” she elaborates. “As an experimentalist, you come to learn that sometimes, you try something, it fails, and so you try again. So whether it’s for an experiment or a real-life situation, physics has taught me how to quickly get back up again after a rejection or failure.”

The Third Law and the Law of Conservation of Energy are also the keys to how Moore is able to manage her time! She likes to eliminate any energy spent comparing oneself to other people, any negative energy, and energy that’s not productive in

general. She has the mindset that if she gives her all and it doesn’t work out, at least she was able to take something from the experience. “Nothing is a waste of time,” she says, “The more you learn, absorb and enjoy, the stronger and more confident you’ll be.”

MERRITT MOORE'S FINAL MESSAGE To any young women struggling to choose between pursuing either the arts or the sciences, Moore says: “Trust your intuition. Do what you are passionate about - even if people say it’s silly, pursuing something with passion will take you so far.

Really think about what makes you unique and different, and embrace and strengthen it. Just put forth full force into who you are as an individual instead of striving to reach some ideal state of perfection, because your individuality is the strongest thing that you’ve got. It’s just as my former dance coach once told me: ‘perfect is replaceable. Being unique and different, though?

Irreplaceable.'"

26 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: MERRITT MOORE

Winter READING LIST

Emmy in the Key of Code | Aimee Lucido In a new city, at a new school, twelve-year-old Emmy has never felt more out of tune. Things start to look up when she takes her first coding class, unexpectedly connecting with the material—and Abigail, a new friend— through a shared language: music. But when Emmy gets bad news about their computer teacher, and finds out Abigail isn’t being entirely honest about their friendship, she feels like her new life is screeching to a halt.

Despite these obstacles, Emmy is determined to prove one thing: that, for the first time ever, she isn’t a wrong note, but a musician in the world’s most beautiful symphony. Told in a series of short poems, Emmy in the Key of Code starts to incorporate the language of Java into the poetry as Emmy starts to think in code.

Cost: 16.99

Age range: 8-12

Screen Queens | Lori Goldstein Three thousand applicants. An acceptance rate of two percent. A dream internship for the winning team. ValleyStart is the most prestigious high school tech incubator competition in the country. Lucy Katz, Maddie Li, and Delia Meyer have secured their spots. And they’ve come to win. Meet the Screen Queens. When the competition kicks off, Lucy, Maddie, and Delia realize just how challenging the next five weeks will be. As if there wasn’t enough pressure already, the girls learn that they would be the only all-female team to win ever. Add in one first love, a two-faced mentor, and an ex-boyfriend turned nemesis and things get… complicated.

Cost: 17.99

Age range: 12+

Code Like a Girl | Miriam Peskowitz Ever wondered how coding works, but didn't know how or where to start? Author Miriam Peskowitz did, and began to learn to code so that she could show others. Code Like a Girl starts with hands-on projects in Scratch that will leave you feeling empowered, and then turns to the Python programming language, and helps you put together your own computer, using a Raspberry Pi. Everything is explained, step-by-step.

The tone is warm and empowering and Code Like a Girl includes topics such as: how to deal with frustration, why code is the best antidote to perfectionism, and how to deal with the tech bro-culture. This book is a must-read for anyone of any age who's wondered how code works.

Cost: 21.99

28 | WINTER READING LIST

Age range: 12-14

Path to the Stars | Sylvia Acevedo A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo's family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia's life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This inspiring memoir for young readers shares the story of a Latina rocket scientist who currently serves as the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. Cost: 8.99

Age range: 12-14

Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code | Rebel Girls From the world of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes a story based on the exciting adventures of Ada Lovelace: one of the world's first computer programmers. Complete with full color illustrations and coding activities, Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code explores the life of the coding pioneer Ada Lovelace and stigmas she faced as a woman in STEM. Join Ada as she pieces together her understanding of mathematics, machines, and coding eventually leading her to write the world's first programming language Cost: 12.99

Age range: 12-14

Girl Mogul | Tiffany Pham Welcome to Girl Mogul! No matter who you are or where you come from, this book can help you define success, envision it, and make it happen - in school, in your personal life, and at work. Get ready to awaken all the awesomeness that is already inside of you. Tiffany Pham, founder and CEO of Mogul, created one of the most successful platforms for girls worldwide. In Girl Mogul, she speaks directly to teens and young adults, sharing insights from her own life as well from the lives of the most incredible and inspiring women on Mogul. Tiffany has proven that with the right attitude, the right people, and the right vision, there is nothing girls can't do.

Cost: 12.99

Age range: 14+

29 | WINTER READING LIST

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Ladies Who Hack:

LIMOR FRIED 32 | LIMOR FRIED

Entrepreneur and electrical engineer Limor “Ladyada” Fried is breaking the barriers of computer science. The MIT graduate is the founder of Adafruit Industries, a company that runs an innovative website and sells dozens of products to those seeking to learn more about science, technology, and electronics. Since its founding in 2005, Adafruit has grown to employ over 100 staff members and bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

Fried’s own story starts with a dream and a passion for electronics. She began exploring the realm of computers and electronics at an early age, taking things apart and reassembling them. Her first project was a bubble-blowing machine made with a Capsela kit, an educational engineering package of parts and tools.

Fried was tinkering with these advanced electronics long before household computers were common. “My father is a professor of mathematics,” explained Fried in an interview with Makers, a media brand promoting successful women making powerful changes in American society. “He would bring home these early computers, so I naturally spent time with them. I loved being creative, and I loved building stuff, making stuff, and taking stuff apart to understand how they work.”

I loved being

loved building

While still in high school, Fried began studying computer science at Boston University, where her father taught.

However, a friend suggested to her that she should transfer to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to fulfill the desires and goals Fried had for technology. Two years into her degree program at Boston University, Fried decided to transfer to MIT to study electrical engineering instead, becoming one of five transfer students accepted that year. It was at MIT that Fried found her fit and love for the computational foundations that would become Adafruit.

stuff, and taking

“Computers are magical devices, and I wanted to really understand how they work. The human ability to control the electromagnetic spectrum is pretty amazing,” Fried explains.

“It was really fun learning how to program and build computers and electronics from a theoretical perspective, so now I do it from a practical one.”

creative, and I stuff, making

stuff apart to

understand how they work.

32 | LADIES WHO HACK: LIMOR FRIED

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, Fried decided to pursue her Master's in electrical engineering at MIT—along with another goal of hers. She found that her studies focused on the theoretical aspects of engineering—why things worked the way did—rather than the practical aspects. Although the theory of computers was fascinating to Fried, she knew that not everyone would have the time or means to study computational systems in depth. Fried set out to make learning about technology easier for everyone.

"When I was growing up, I wanted to build electronic things, but it was really challenging to understand how to put the parts together. Everything assumed you were an engineer already, so the learning curve was really steep and scary,” explains Fried.

I think it's really

Fried noticed that most electronic kits required users to already have prior skills and knowledge, but she was determined to change this. She began building her own assemblies of radios, frequency jammers, and other small appliances. Fried spent hours studying computer open source software and systems and their effects on human interactions with technology to create these assemblies. Each of these assemblies was documented and posted online so she could share her work with the world.

people to not only

Fried unexpectedly received large amounts of feedback from her online viewers, including requests for posts about other kits or assemblies. Many of her followers wanted to create their own projects but didn’t have the necessary supplies or engineering skills necessary to make functional products.

Because of this obstacle, Fried was inspired to create Adafruit, named aptly after Fried’s nickname “Ladyada” and Fried’s personal hero, Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer.

As she built Adafruit within the walls of her dorm room, Fried began to revolutionize the way everyone learned about science and technology. She compiled and sold “build kits” for her posted projects to be distributed to her growing fan base so they could have the exact materials needed to follow procedure. Every week, she’d release a new schematic with a kit and set of instructions.

important for

understand how

we make stuff but how they can then make stuff

themselves at home.

“I give away the recipe for how it’s done,” Fried said in an interview. “I think it’s really important for people to not only understand how we make stuff but how they can then make stuff themselves and at home.”

Eventually, Fried’s work became so popular and demanding that she had to hire her friends to help her with distribution.

Adafruit’s humble beginnings started at $10 a kit—cheap and affordable for those wanting to learn.

“I think the company took off because, before these kits, there wasn't a learning project out there that you would actually use or wanted to keep," Fried told Entrepreneur.

"Some people will learn for the sake of learning it, but most people need a reason."

After earning her Master’s degree, Fried won the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her groundbreaking study of open source hardware with Adafruit. Nearly five years after Adafruit’s debut, Fried had successfully distributed over $3 million worth of kits to customers. She started to gain more recognition for her efforts and involvement in the STEM community, and in 2011, Fast Company named her as one of the Most Influential Women in Technology. Around this time, Fried also became the first female engineer to ever be on the cover of WIRED.

BY: ABIGAIL JOHNSON

33 | LADIES WHO HACK:LIMOR FRIED

In 2011, Adafruit made $4.5 million in sales and sold over half a million kits nationwide to students of all ages. Fried relocated to New York at the time to expand the company and hire more employees. Shortly thereafter in 2012, Fried earned the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Entrepreneur and was the only female nominee.

Fried’s many awards are not just a result of her hard work and efforts but a testament to the necessity and success of her company. Adafruit offers numerous unique kits for various uses and purposes worldwide, including scientific curiosity, educational studies, or fun. In the mindset of “Do-It-Yourself,” the company provides guides for everything. Fried strives to offer diverse projects for everyone so they can learn about what interests them.

"I think of Adafruit as a cause, not just a company," Fried told Fast Company. "There's a company that sustains me, but that's not enough to drive what I do. What we're trying to do is make electrical engineering exciting, cool, and fun."

Although Adafruit kits are for all ages, Fried really hopes to reach young students and budding engineers so that they have the fundamentals to be successful not only in tech, but in life.

She believes it is important for future generations to have a better understanding of how technology impacts the modern world.

"I think of Adafruit

as a cause, not just a company...

THERE'S A COMPANY THAT SUSTAINS ME, BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TO DRIVE WHAT I DO. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING EXCITING, COOL, AND FUN." 34 | LADIES WHO HACK: LIMOR FRIED

23 | EVERYDAY CHANGEMAKERS: CASSIDY WILLIAMS

“Computational thinking is going to be essential for kids to learn because everything we do, whether it is civil engineering or medicine or fashion, intersects with data, software or hardware. Being able to use, create, manage, and customize computational elements is what is going to allow people to solve their generation's tough problems,” Fried explains.

She believes that applying computational thoughts to critical thinking is important for living in our current society and for human-technology interaction. She also challenges others to face the tough problems society currently struggles to overcome.

Fried is definitely changing the way people learn about science and electronics. Everyone worldwide has access to the many projects and designs Fried has supplied, needing only a couple of dollars and the enthusiasm to take on new challenges.

“Electronics is so cool, and crafting and creating with electronic medium is something that should be accessible to anyone,” Fried says. “Hopefully we've made electronics and engineering more fun and easier to learn.”

"BEING ABLE TO

use, create, manage, and customize COMPUTATIONAL ELEMENTS IS WHAT IS GOING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO

solve their generation's tough problems."

BY: ABIGAIL JOHNSON

35 | LADIES WHO HACK: LIMOR FRIED

HISTORICAL FIGURES: KATHERINE JOHNSON Katherine Johnson at NASA in 1966 PC: NASA

Known as one of the greatest female figures in the history of NASA, Katherine Johnson is an African American mathematician who worked in the Space Task Group during the early days of the American space program. Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Katherine excelled in her studies and took classes at West Virginia State University.

After completing college, she decided to teach at a public school for black children. However, her teaching career was ended quickly when West Virginia University chose her and two other African Amercian scholars to enter into the mathematics graduate program.

This opportunity was short-lived, though, as Katherine decided to drop out of school to settle down and start a family with her husband, James Goble. This group later was renamed the Space Task Group when NACA was transformed into NASA. It was here that Katherine used her math skills to calculate spacecraft flight trajectories and suborbital calculations for the Mercury Missions.

She and an engineering coworker wrote a technical report together about flight trajectory for spacecraft in orbit, the first time in NASA history a woman had been allowed to author a report.

36 | HISTORICAL FIGURES: KATHERINE JOHNSON

Due to her success in flight calculations and orbital mechanics, Katherine would be consulted later for astronaut John Glenn’s orbital flight coordinates upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

She was even specifically requested by Glenn himself to doublecheck his orbital flight trajectory right before he entered the Friendship 7 space capsule, which made him the first American astronaut in orbit. Her incredible mathematics work would continue with the beginning of the Apollo program, especially when the inflight problem of Apollo 13 took place.

Katherine worked on a safe path of return to bring home the three astronauts by building a star coordinate system that would act as navigation. This system, along with many other innovative equations and research materials, were published by Katherine in numerous reports over the span of her long career at NASA.

"I like to

Learn.

That's an art and a science." - Katherine Johnson

Alan Shepard's Flight Path for the Mercury Redstone 4 mission.

PC: NASA

Her thirty-three years of work in spaceflight ended in 1986 with her retirement. “We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics,” Katherine claimed.

Katherine Johnson worked on the Mercury program, the Apollo Program, and the Space Shuttle program. She authored or coauthored 26 research reports, her incredible contributions earning her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 from President Barack Obama.

In honor of all of her achievements, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia opened the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility in late 2017.

The facility advances Langley's modeling, big data, simulation, and analysis capabilities through hosting computers that are ever more powerful. She advises,

"Like what you do, and then you will do your best."

BY: ABIGAIL JOHNSON

Katherine Johnson recieving the Presidential Medal of Freedom (PC: NASA)

37 | HISTORICAL FIGURES: KATHERINE JOHNSON

RESPECTING PRONOUNS personal pronoun (n): a pronoun... that expresses the distinction of a person A personal pronoun, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “a pronoun...that expresses a distinction of person.” These are words such as he, she, they, and them and are how people refer to themselves and others on a day-to-day basis. Most of the time, these pronouns are assumed by others without any negative repercussions. In general, these are not words that people consider important or vital to their self-image. However, this is not the case for members of the transgender and nonbinary communities - these words are an extension of who they truly are. It is important to understand how an individual/person is affected when the wrong pronoun is used, how to be inclusive, and how to react if you make a mistake.

What happens when you use incorrect pronouns?

For many of us, these words are not thought of frequently or are not viewed as important. However, for individuals who are transgender or nonbinary, these pronouns are vital to their identity.

Chance Hillman (pronouns he/him) states that he gets a “really deep insecure pain” when someone uses the incorrect pronouns because he doesn’t feel “man enough.” For Dodge Riot (pronouns they/them), the feelings are mixed and have changed over time. “Before, I would emotionally shut down and no longer be available. Now it still stings, but I can usually correct people and move on. This response did not come easily, it had to be trained.”

Hillman and Riot aren’t the only ones who feel this way when they are misgendered. In the 2014 study conducted by Kevin McLemore, entitled “Experiences with Misgendering: Identity Misclassification of Transgender Spectrum Individuals,” it was found that transgender individuals dealt with lower self-esteem.

38 | RESPECTING PRONOUNS

Additionally, transgender or non-binary individuals can deal with more mental health problems than cisgender people.

These problems can include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, and even dysphoria, which is a state where a person feels extremely unhappy, uneasy, or dissatisfied.

Transgender (adj): denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

Non-binary (adj): denoting or relating to a gender or sexual identity that is not defined in terms of traditional binary oppositions such as male and female or homosexual and heterosexual How to be inclusive Although navigating pronouns may seem tricky, there are many ways that an individual can be inclusive. This kind of inclusive behavior should be employed with everyone in society as to not single anyone out.

One easy way to be inclusive is to state your own pronouns when you are introducing yourself to people. In addition, it can be beneficial to directly ask the other person’s pronouns.

As Hillman points out, “A simple ‘what are your pronouns?/which pronouns do you prefer?’ goes a long way.”

Riot agrees with this statement. “If you meet someone new, always ask their pronouns! Never assume based on how someone looks.” This point - not making assumptions based on physical appearance - is extremely important for individuals who are in the process of transitioning. Transitioning is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as when a person “[adopts] permanently the outward and/or physical characteristics of the gender one identifies with, as opposed to those associated with one's birth sex.”

For people who are transitioning, the incorrect usage of pronouns can be even more detrimental to their self-esteem and mental health than someone who is not undergoing the transition process. Another way to be inclusive is to add your personal pronouns to your email signature. With today’s society being primarily digital, it is possible that your first time meeting someone will be through electronic means. By including your pronouns, you are indicating that you recognize their importance.

This will help people feel comfortable telling you their pronouns when they initially get to know you. Finally, inclusivity can also be exercised when you are speaking to a room full of individuals. When you are directing your words to a group of people it is best to avoid any pronouns that are indicative of gender, such as the phrase, “Hey guys!” This can make some uncomfortable. Instead, it is better to use language that is general, such as “everyone.”

Try it out!

Hi! My name is

And I use the pronouns:

When a Mistake is Made Even if you are consciously trying not to offend anyone, mistakes do happen. Riot says, “It’s best to not make it a big deal! The person you misgendered is probably uncomfortable, as well as yourself, so just move past the moment quickly and repeat what you said with the correct pronouns.”

Hillman adds that, “The best thing to do is apologize sincerely and do their best to use the right pronouns next time. Once I tell them [my pronouns] they can respect me by using them or trying their best to.”

Final Thoughts In short, it is important to be inclusive to everyone, which extends to their pronouns. Not utilizing the right pronouns is damaging to both a person’s mental health and self-esteem.

However, through simple changes in how you introduce yourself, your email signature, and your verbiage, you can make everyone feel included.

BY: NATALIE HAHN

39 | RESPECTING PRONOUNS

FEMALES IN FIRST ROBOTICS Seated around a small glass teapoy with motors and miniature plastic pieces scattered haphazardly on top, four middle school girls were spending their Friday night tackling what they believed would eventually become one of the most pressing issues in aerospace: the adverse psychological effects of isolation on astronauts during space travel. The team of four—Digiminds, as the group called itself—was debating the design of the app that they were building, pointing animatedly at stapled pages of research that they had compiled.

“We’re making an app that will basically talk to astronauts while they’re up in space,” explains Abhirami Rajesh, a sixth-grader on the team. “It’s like a chatbot, but it’s not web-based or anything, so they can use it all the time. I think that the judges will think it’s a pretty creative solution, since it’s like therapy but on their tablets.” The girls were determined to make their product work— as a FIRST LEGO League team, in addition to being evaluated for their psychotherapy app, they were expected to design, build, and program a fully autonomous robot that attempts to outscore other robots by completing a series of missions on the season’s game field, which changes annually. “Robotics takes a lot of time, and sometimes our ideas don’t work, but I know that if we work together, DigiMinds will always find a way to fix it,” Rajesh said.

The girls’ ambitious mindset is both impressive and ubiquitous among FIRST students across all age groups. This is no coincidence. FIRST, the parent organization that runs FIRST Lego League (FLL), is designed to encourage students of all ages to start

40 | FEMALES IN FIRST ROBOTICS

in STEM early and stick with it as they progress through grade school. Every year, hundreds of thousands of students form teams across the globe to participate in one of FIRST’s four robotics competitions: FIRST LEGO League Jr., FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, or FIRST Robotics Competition. Since its inception in 1989, FIRST has acted as the gateway to engineering for many students regardless of their background or country of origin.

Aware of the impact that the organization has on its students and ultimately the STEM workforce, FIRST places a heavy emphasis on elevating STEM gender equity.

Building the next generation of female roboticists one screw at a time.

“Working with girls that I have seen grow meeting by meeting has helped me build many strong connections with them. Now we’re like family!” Hegde exclaims.

FIRST teams are expected not only to develop Engineering and Software Development skills by participating in the technical aspect of the competitions, but also to seek help from STEM and business professionals. Many all-girls teams, such as W.A.G.S. and Prototype G, use this as an opportunity to make lasting connections with strong women in STEM. As Hegde puts it, “the [list] of female engineers, scientists, and businesswomen that we have met through the team motivate us without them even knowing it. These are trailblazers in their respective fields, and they inspire us every day to continue to pursue our passion for STEM.” According to the program’s 2019 Impact Study, 48% of registered FIRST participants identified as female, a number that has been steadily rising since the program’s founding.

Women are inspiring women, and the females of FIRST robotics are shattering glass ceilings. As Rajesh had said, “I think us girls in FIRST are going to change the world.”

The increased participation of girls in the program has had a profound impact on its female competitors. As Madeleine Zullow, captain of the esteemed Girls Scouts FTC team, 6037 W.A.G.S., explains, “Before I joined [my] team, I was interested in going into a STEM field, but I had no idea what specific degree I wanted. Now I know that I want to become an engineer. I really feel indebted to my team because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to find one of my strongest interests.”

It is often the inclusive environment cultivated by all-girls teams that draws girls into the program.

“Over the past few years, I've truly experienced how important it is to be surrounded by people who are so driven by the same motivations as me,” states Shreya Hegde, a cocaptain of 11306 Prototype G, an all-girls FTC team. The team’s passion for the competition was evident through their excitement during the meeting. Understanding the delicacy of many girls’ mindsets regarding participating in STEM, the two captains of Prototype G have worked to maintain an atmosphere of Gracious Professionalism during their meetings while simultaneously instilling a fierce competitive nature within their teammates.

I think us girls in FIRST are going to

change the world.

BY: APARNA RAJESH

41 | FEMALES IN FIRST ROBOTICS

REIN VENTED MAG AZINE PRES ENTS

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? GIRLS! 5K Brevard County's Only All-Female Race

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CODIN G TH E CATW A L K WITH REE NY BO TRO S When some young girls hear the word “fashion,” images of Fashion Week or the latest cover of Vogue may pop into their minds. However, for nineteen-year-old Reeny Botros, this isn’t the case. When Botros thinks fashion, she pictures Catwalk Coding, her camp in which young girls are inspired to create their own light-up fashion accessories.

"The point of Catwalk Coding,” Botros says, "is to build a bridge between fashion and science. I want to teach girls that innovation and science [are] compatible with any of their passions.” In this five-day instructional camp Botros created for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project, girls are taught to design,

code, wire, and even solder their own accessories in a stepby-step process. On the final day of the program, the girls get to showcase their accessories in front of their friends, family, and a panel of prestigious women in STEM. The extravaganza, as Botros likes to call it, is followed by a question-and-answer session with the panel of women in which the young girls are able to ask questions about the women’s careers.

The inspiration behind this program stemmed from Botros’s longtime interest in fashion. “I’ve always worn big bows, sequins, [and] big tutus with all my friends,” she explains in an interview with Girl Scouts of the USA. However, it didn’t

43 | CODING THE CATWALK WITH REENY BOTROS

take long for her to notice that her girlfriends didn't share the passions in STEM that she did. A strong believer in the fact that “fashion can bring a group together,” Botros knew she could do something to overcome this dilemma. When she decided to combine STEM and fashion, Catwalk Coding was born.

When Botros first started Catwalk Coding, the camp was comprised of 25 girls from Botros’ hometown in Wichita, Kansas. In a short amount of time, she was able to take the camp to a global scale with one hundred girls at a community center in Mexico. Encouraged by the recent globalization of her initiative, Botros expanded enrollment for her camp to a refugee Girl Scout troop from Tanzania in 2018. Despite the language barrier, the girls were able to gain valuable skills from the camp.

“Making a difference in these girls’ lives is really inspiring to me. When I was growing up, I didn’t have a lot of role models who were women in STEM because they’re so scarce. To be that role model for them means a lot to me.”

44 | CODING THE CATWALK WITH REENY BOTROS

Botros, now a sophomore at Stanford University studying biology, is still finding ways to keep the camp running.

Although she says the first four days of camp involve hours and hours of hard work in such a short period of time, “the fifth day when I see these girls try on their accessories and flow as they walk down the catwalk, makes [all the hard work] worth it." Impressively, many of the girls who participate in the camps go on to pursue their own endeavors, which makes it even more gratifying.

“Making a difference in these girls’ lives is really inspiring to me. When I was growing up, I didn’t have a lot of role models who were women in STEM because they’re so scarce. To be that role model for them means a lot to me,” Botros explains.

Programs such as Catwalk Coding are examples of the first steps that we need to take in order to close the gender gap in STEM. Botros believes that other girls should take the initiative to start their own programs for causes they believe in: “Just put in the hours, and it will all be worth it.

We are all fighting the same fight.”

BY: SANJANA YEDDULA

45 | CODING THE CATWALK WITH REENY BOTROS

LEGO MINIFIGURE BUILD-A-THON Join Reinvented Inc. in celebrating Women's History Month by helping us create a display of 20,000 female LEGO minifigures.

Date: March 7 -8, 2020 Location: Brevard County, FL

Visit our wesite for more information:

How to Participate:

Virtual: Create your own LEGO minifigure at home, take a photo, and post on social media using the hashtag #SheCanSTEM! Mail In: Not local to Florida but still want your minifigure in our display? Create your own female LEGO minifigure at home and then mail the pieces to our team by February 22nd to put together for you!

Adopt-a-Minifigure: Don't want to create your own minifigure? Choose from the minifigure options on our website and adopt one to be added to our display on March 8th.

Build: Putting together 20,000 LEGO minifigures takes a lot of people! Volunteer on March 7th or 8th to help build the display!

Exploring Sensors

Humans have five main senses: touch, smell,, taste, hearing, and sight. Let's explore how robots and other machines use sensors just like humans do!

PC: freepik.com

SOUND SENSOR Have you ever asked "OK Google" or "Hey Siri" to your phone? If so, you're using a sound sensor!

A sound sensor works like a human ear - when it hears a noise, it starts listening. Sound - things we hear - actually travel in waves! Think about if you are standing right next to a fire alarm when it goes off versus if you are standing outside - it's much louder when you're standing right next to it. That's because these waves weaken as they travel further from the source. They're really big waves when they're right next to you, but weaken as they go along. That's why sometimes when you say "OK Google" to your phone, nothing happens - the waves are too far away and not reaching the microphone (the sound sensor!) in your phone.

A sound sensor that a robot, or your phone, uses detects these waves and translates them into actions. A security system, for example, might use sound as a trigger. When the sound sensor receives a certain "loudness" of wavelength, it might trigger the system to start recording video - maybe your pet knocked something off the table and made a loud crashing noise, or maybe someone is trying to enter your home!

TOUCH SENSOR Humans have built in touch sensors. Our skin has many types of receptors which send information to our nervous system.

Mechanoreceptors tell us things like how something feels, how big it is, if the object is mobile, or if we've just brushed against it or if it's hit us. These "sensors" are built into the top two layers of our skin - the dermis and epidermis. Robots don't have skin - so sometimes they will have touch sensors instead of our built in mechanoreceptors. This helps a robot tell if it's run into something, or execute a command like "stop when the touch sensor is pressed." Humans sometimes follow the same command!

If we run into something, we'll stop!

INFRARED COMMUNICATION Infrared is a type of electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light, which means it is generally invisible to the eye. For example, when you hit a button on your TV remote, an IR LED repeatedly turns on and off, 38,000 time a second, to transmit information (like volume or channel control) to an IR photo sensor on your TV.

EXPLORATION - MEET BOLT

Instead of a single IR emitter (like a TV remote), some robots have many emitters and receivers. The emitters and receivers can be placed to create 360° of IR communication.

This means robots that are on the same wavelength can send and receive messages to each other

48 | EXPLORING SENSORS

ODOR SENSORS Just like humans scrunch up our noses at bad smells, some sensors are designed to react to different smells. In human noses, we have olfactory receptor neurons, which detect odors. Sensors do the same, but usually are designed to detect just a few odors, not the many that humans can smell.

Odors are made when a substance releases particles into the air. These particles are made up of chemical elements. For example, if you ever smell rotten eggs but there are none around, you are probably smelling sulfur. The molecule MMP is the key ingredient when you smell basil or grapefruit.

You might have a carbon monoxide detector in your home. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, which is what makes it so dangerous. It can occur when there is no ventilation: if you leave a car running in a closed garage, for example.

There are different types of carbon monoxide sensors: color-changing gels, electrical sensors, or metallic sensors that set off alarms. Safewise describes the three types of carbon monoxide detectors very well: Biomimetic sensor: A gel changes color when it absorbs carbon monoxide, and this color change triggers the alarm.

Metal oxide semiconductor: When the silica chip’s circuitry detects carbon monoxide, it lowers the electrical resistance, and this change triggers the alarm.

Electrochemical sensor: Electrodes immersed in a chemical solution sense changes in electrical currents when they come into contact with carbon monoxide, and this change triggers the alarm. Once the alarm sounds, the carbon monoxide detector must be in a carbon monoxide-free environment to reset itself.

Humans can't smell carbon dioxide. If a carbon monoxide detector goes off, move outside to fresh air as quickly as you can! This is one example of a sensor that does more than what a human nose can!

MAGNETOMETER Many mobile robots come equipped with a magnetometer.

A magnetometer is an instrument used to measure magnetism. Every magnet has a north and south pole, which either repels (pushes) or attracts (pulls) other magnetic objects, like iron.

Some magnetometers are designed to measure Earth’s magnetic field and help you find magnetic north, which means, you can use it as a compass. The Earth has two poles, and a magnetic field. Outside the earth, the field travels from the North pole to the South pole. But inside, it goes from South to North.

A compass is an instrument that contains a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north. Compass headings are used as methods of navigation in relation to the north direction by angles. They help locate objects or positions within a twodimensional plane, such as a map or diagram. Bearings indicate a straight line from one position to another. Three types of these navigational possibilities include standard compass bearings, other compass bearings, and true bearings.

49 | EXPLORING SENSORS

TEMPERATURE SENSOR A temperature sensor is also known as a thermometer! Humans use sensors in their skin - just like the mechanoreceptors discussed earlier, except now they're called thermoreceptors. A thermometer measures how hot or cold something is. Older thermometers used mercury in a thin glass tube. As the mercury heated up, it expanded and rose up the glass tube, allowing the person reading it to know that the temperature was getting hotter. The image to the left shows what a mercury thermometer looks like: the red represents the mercury inside a glass tube.

Now, digital thermometers are more common. They are usually more accurate than analog, or old, thermometers, and they are safer because they don't use mercury. Digital thermometers use a temperature sensor called a thermocouple, A thermocouple is a circle of wire made out of two types of metal. If the metal is heated, electricity is generated. The more electricity generated, the hotter the temperature. When the thermocouple is connected to a screen, like the digital thermometer in your house, a readout of the temperature will appear.

A temperature sensor can be really useful. Just like humans can sense when the stove is hot so we know not to touch it, a robot may stop if it senses something hot so it isn't damanged.

AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR An ambient light sensor is used in many modern technologies, particularly mobile devices like cell phones and tablets.

Have you ever noticed your cell phone's screen dim or brighten on its own?

This happens because your phone's ambient light sensor recognizes the change in light and adjusts your screen automatically for optimal viewing. An ambient light sensor measures the amount of photons captured over a period of time. This is translated into an electrical current and then calculated into a measurement called lux.

Every source of light has a different lux value. You can use those lux values to create dynamic programs that respond differently to different types of light and light intensities. For example, a light sensor might be used in agriculture to determine when to water the crops. When the sun is the brightest, it is usually the hottest part of the day, so the most water would evaporate before reaching the crops. A light sensor can be used to detect when the sun is the dimmest. Then, a sprinkler system could be activated, which allows the most water to reach the crops.

Thank you to Sphero for some images and descriptions contained above. You can learn more about Sphero and their educational products on their website, www.sphero.com.

50 | EXPLORING SENSORS

BY: ERIN MITCHELL

DIY : PAPER CIRCUIT CARDS Brought to you by

BY: SANJANA YEDDULA

CONDUCTIVITY

BATTERIES

LEDS

A conductor is a material that conducts electricity: it allows current to flow through it. Good conductors are metal and include copper and aluminium.

Insulators block the flow of electrons and include most plastics and rubbers. This is important for the project we are about to do: the tape we are going to use to build our circuits is conductive, but it's adhesive is an insulator. This presents a design constraint we will have to work around!

Batteries store energy as chemical energy, but convert that to electrical energy for your use through a chemical reaction. They produce DC (direct current) electricity -- so the electric current flows from the positive to negative end of the battery. (Your wall outlet is AC -- alternating current -- and changes directions.) **Note: Technically, electrons flow from the negative to positive end of the battery, but current is the flow of positive charge so it flows from positive to negative.

LED = Light Emitting Diode. LEDs produce light when an electric current is run through them. You may have heard f them as a lowerenergy alternative to light bulbs.

They are directional, meaning they have a positive (cathode) and negative (anode) end. Think off LEDs (and all diodes) as a one-way street -- current can only flow one way through them, it's blocked going the other way. This means if an LED in your circuit isn't lighting up, try flipping it around!

52 | DIY WITH BEAUTY & THE BOLT 50 | DIY: CHLADNI PLATES

LET'S GET STARTED The Basics: Single LED Card GATHER YOUR MATERIALS You'll Need:

- Crafting Supplies to Make the Card itself - Coin Cell Batteries - LEDs (a variety of colors) - Conductive Foil Tape (I used HVAC tape from the Hardware Store) - Scissors * If you have access to conductive ink or sheathing tape (conductive tape/ copper tape) it will be much easier as the adhesive of sheathing tape is also conductive.

STEP 4:

How to Make Joints Conductive

Unfortunately, most foil tape is only conductive on one side: it's adhesive acts as an insulator. This means we need to fold a tab over on each joint and secure it down to ensure continuity.

STEP 1:Make a card and cut out an LED hole STEP 5: Add the LED and Bend the Leads This is all your own artistic vision! When you've picked out where you'd like the LED to go, just cut out a hole so you can push the LED through.

STEP 2:

Draw Your Circuit Onto the Card

You're going to need a conductive path from one end of the LED to the battery, and the other end to the switch pad. Make sure to label (+) and (-)!

When the pad is pressed against the battery, the LED will light up!

STEP 3:

Cut out the Traces with Foil Tape Try to cut full traces from one piece of tape, with as few joints as possible. We will talk about that in the next step!

Next step is to add the LED! All you need to do is bend the leads (the wires) down so that they make solid contact with your conductive tape. Make sure you know where your (+) and (-) sides are! I like pointing the (-) to the battery.

STEP 6: Test the Circuit with the Battery

Place the battery on the pad and close the card-- pushing the two pads together. The LED should light up! If it doesn't, try flipping the battery over. If that still doesn't work, check your tape joints to make sure they've all been folded over so that the conductive sides are touching.

STEP 7: Secure the Battery & DONE!

The last thing you need to do is tape down the edges of your battery! Make sure to leave most of the battery contact exposed so that the switch will work! (You can also hot glue around the edges if you prefer, just make sure not to glue the bottom.)

53 | DIY WITH BEAUTY & THE BOLT

DESIGNING YOUR OWN CIRCUITS Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohn's Law

There's two main ways to connect more than one circuit component (like a resistor or an LED!): Series and Parallel. Series circuits have the resistors inline with each other. This means that all of the current in the whole circuit has to pass through both resistors. This also means that voltage drops twice in the circuit: once over the first resistor and once over the second resistor. You can calculate the drop over each resistor using the equations in the Ohm's Law wheel on the previous page.

Parallel Circuits have more than one continuous path through the circuit. In this configuration, the current will be split among the branches, and some with flow through R1, and some will flow through R2. However, the voltage level must be the same before the branches rejoin, therefore the voltage drop over each branch will be equal. How much current flows to each branch is dependent on the resistor values.

Current is inherently lazy and take the path of least resistance, so if one resistor has a lower value than the other, it will have more current flowing through it., so if one resistor has a lower value than the other, it will have more current flowing through it.

It is important to note that as you learn more about circuits you will learn more about the properties of series and parallel circuits. What you have learned here is only applicable to resistors-- the equations for capacitors, inductors, and their friends are different!

HOW TO USE MULTIPLE LED'S ON YOUR CARD IN SERIES Step 1:

Draw the circuit onto your card with all of Add the Step 2: the LEDs in parallel. They cannot be in tape just like with the single LED circuit, but take extra card to make sure all of positive and negative leads are pointing the right way.

Done!

Tape the leads of the LED around the battery like this, and add to the card.

Voila! It will last about 3 days.

Got a Little Sibling?

Here's an easier version for them to try!

EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS Hey teachers, did you know that this project meets some Next Generation Science Standards? We try to include an educational component in each of our projects, so make sure to check out our website at www.beautyandthebolt.com for more NGSS and Common Core compliant lesson plans.

4-PS3-1. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

55 | DIY WITH BEAUTY & THE BOLT

2020 Space Camp Scholarship Geek Partnership Society is offering a scholarship that will cover the cost of one session of Space CampÂŽ or Space Academy, run by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, including airfare for one child, age 10-14.

See our website for rules, eligibility requirements, and the application.

Submission window for the 2020 award is October 20, 2019 to January 20, 2020. https://geekpartnership.org/ programs/spacecamp/

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Ask Gloria Gloria Kimbwala is CEO and founder of Shule, a startup that tokenizes international experiential learning systems in decentralized education.

Previously to venturing out on her own, she was Square's University Tech Evangelist where she focused on helping connect people to the tools, programs, and support they need to enter the technology industry. This includes leading programs such as Square's Code Camps, an immersion program that supports college women in pursuing careers in technology. She was recently named on the Top Ten Women in Fintech by Fintech Ranking. Her nontraditional path into technology includes a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and a Master's degree in Computer Science.

Gloria is the Technical Advisor on the Society of Women Coder's (SOWCoder's) Board which brings technical skills to women across the globe. In her spare time, you can find her coding with her sons, doing yoga, and playing the drums.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR COLLEGE FRESHMAN INTERESTED IN STUDYING COMPUTER SCIENCE OR ENGINEERING?

College is a great time to try new things, so if you're interested in Computer Science, Engineering, or another STEM-related major, I would suggest taking a class. Even if it is not your major, it can satisfy your elective requirements. When you are in that class remember everyone starts at the same place, some people might have more experience than you and someone might have less.

You are not in a race against everyone in the classroom, you are there to learn more and more every week. It's important to see how you feel during the course. If you enjoy the coursework and have a strong desire to learn more, then keep going. Curiosity will take you far in life. If you didn't enjoy the course, don't take it personally, it could be the teacher or the subject matter.

Engineering is multifaceted so just because you don't enjoy one part doesn't mean you should give up on the whole idea. It also doesn't mean that if you study software engineering you can't transfer into hardware engineering. Lastly, it's not too early to start thinking about internships like Google's STEP Program or Facebook University.

HOW DO YOU LEARN TO EMBRACE RISK TAKING? Most of the time the fear of failing keeps me from taking a risk. In order to mitigate this, I have had to embrace failure and take small risks. Once at a Womeng meeting, someone shared how they felt that they couldn't wear a dress to work in fear that they would be seen as less capable. Many women agreed and we decided that we would all wear a dress the next day. It was a simple risk, but it was empowering to see the support. Starting with small risks can help give you the confidence to take on bigger risks.

I also started to say, "What's the worst that can happen if I go for it?" Every risk is an opportunities to learn something new and to grow as an individual. Instead of being apprehensive about the risk, focus on the new challenge and having a growth mindset throughout the process.

" What's the worst that can happen if I go for it? " 60 | ASK GLORIA

WHAT IS ONE THING EVERY WOMAN IN STEM SHOULD HAVE? If I could give every woman in STEM one thing it would be belief in themselves. Imposter syndrome can rob us of our confidence and hinder us from going after opportunities. I personally feel that if every woman had a strong belief in themselves they would follow their passions and be uninhibited to reaching their highest potential. Beyond that, I would suggest that every woman has the following: A general essay to apply for scholarships, conferences, and grants A BFF (preferably one that works in STEM, but not in your office) to be a nonjudgmental listening ear when needed A splurge fund for equipment, books, conferences, and mental health days A nerd out session A journal for brilliant ideas (NotePad apps also work) A mentor to inspire you to reach higher A mentee to be inspired by you and give back to the community

Gloria's Notebook

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A BIG MEETING OR PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF PEOPLE YOU KNOW? There are a couple of things that you can do to feel best prepared for a big meeting or a presentation. The first thing is to doublecheck the agenda and if there is no agenda, request one. Having a pre-set agenda helps keep the meeting on track and when it's sent out ahead of time it allows for people to come with thoughtful comments and opinions. When preparing for a big presentation, I practice in front of a mirror multiple times. I also call a friend and ask if I can give my presentation to them, even doing it via Skype if I have to. If my presentation is in front of a large audience, which for me can be anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand, then I try to give the presentation ahead of time at a Meetup or at another smaller event. I always ask for feedback and remember that the feedback is used to help the next time I give the talk be even better. Lastly, think about your call to action or action items. People should leave the meeting or presentation with a clear message as to what the next steps are and who is expected to accomplish those actions.

HOW DO YOU FIND A MENTOR? AND ONCE YOU HAVE ONE, HOW DO YOU USE THEM? Mentors can come from many different places. They can be people from your school or university, colleagues from your company, friends from meetups, people from the industry or someone from a mentorship organization. There are a couple of general tips to get the most out of your mentor sessions. The number one rule about mentorship is to respect each other’s time. You can show respect for each other’s time by showing up on time, keeping your meetings brief, having an agenda and making sure your objectives are clear. A great use for mentors is checking over resumes, endorsing your for positions, helping with technical talks, and going over OKRs and goals. Mentor sessions can be done via email, skype, face to face, or over the phone. They also don’t have to be done weekly. Monthly checkins or check-ins via email is perfectly fine. A mentor is just like any other relationship, you get more out of it when you put more into it.

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