Jake the Dog, Watercolor
In my biomedical engineering design course, I would be doing my students a disservice if I talked about the design process without covering failure. We spend time becoming comfortable with admitting mistakes and learning how to grow and improve in response to them, instead of hiding them.
Plant Collection
As an Insight advisor for our first-year students, I run a program about how self-care can help you thrive as a person and a student. My advisees learn how to care for succulents as a metaphor for themselves, and all of their plants come from these parent plants I care for.
George, Georgie, & Georgette
I love being involved with several summer camps at WPI and helping getting kids interested in engineering. Last summer some of my BME Design campers learned that my fish didn't have names, so I let them name their new scaly friends.
Children's Books
After years of work by the Safe Zone committee and the Housing & Residential Experience Center to make it possible, I am now lucky to be the Insight advisor for WPI’s first gender-inclusive floor for first-year students. Sometimes school is really stressful, so—upon request—I will drop by the dorm and read bedtime stories to my advisees.
Large Tea Collection
Lots of students frequent my office. Most are from my courses, others are in the Alliance (WPI's LGBTQ+ group), the Biomedical Engineering Society, plus my Insight and academic advisees—but all students are welcome. No matter the question, I always have tea, chocolate, and Silly Putty to set them at ease.
Box of Randomness
It's so much easier to convey a difficult concept if students can visualize it. Everything in this box has been used in class to demonstrate a point or test a theory, and I just keep adding to it.
Cardiac Histology Coasters
My doctoral research focused on making and improving artificial blood vessels. Talking about it used to gross out my family and friends, but now they get me, and give me gifts like this.
First published in WPI Journal, Spring 2018 edition