Team EPICS’ proposal aimed to diversify makerspaces in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and create greater accessibility and inclusion for women students in ME 2110: Creative Systems and Design. The team – Lila Bernhardt, Jesse Goodwin, Zoe Klesmith, Gregory Kurfess, Jessie Liu, and Anastasia Schauer – worked as TAs in the class, which is an introductory course that includes a hands-on component in the Woodruff School’s IDEA Laboratory.

“In our time as TAs, our team noticed that not only was it rare to have women in our classrooms, but there was a significant difference in the way that many of them used ME makerspaces,” said Anastasia Schauer, an ME graduate student. Schauer’s Ph.D. work focuses on gender bias in the design space, and she was able to draw on her research throughout the project.

In their proposal, Team EPICS outlined a two-part problem. First, women tend to enter introductory ME classes with lower levels of self-efficacy and confidence than men, largely due to gendered societal expectations. Secondly, most safety gear is one-size-fits-all and fails to fit many women, leaving them at risk in makerspace settings. The team’s solution would create a series of easily accessible IDEA Laboratory instructional videos featuring instructors from traditionally underrepresented groups. Team EPICS also recommended more appropriately sized safety gear for the laboratory.

The second-place team, Team Oracle, focused on helping students with cognitive, speech, and motor disabilities. The group talked with members of Georgia Tech’s ABLE Alliance to learn about the academic difficulties students with disabilities encounter and worked to create a plan that would foster greater academic inclusion for all students.

Team Oracle’s solution would implement a policy for students with disabilities to register for a reduced course load while still receiving the benefits available to full-time students. This would allow academically disadvantaged students to spend more time and focus on their classes without the logistical downsides of being a part-time student.

“By allowing students with academic difficulties to participate in our reduced course load program, we could ease their educational burden and provide them with the academic recognition all Tech students deserve,” said Prathic Sundararajan, a recent graduate of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

The third place team, Team BD9000, addressed the lack of an easily accessible fitness facility for students living in Georgia Tech’s east campus housing facilities and off-campus residences. The team proposed the creation of a calisthenics park, with weather-resistant gym equipment and machinery positioned around Tech Green. The park would also host fitness classes and daily challenges.