Social Technology Enterprise with Purpose (STEP)

STEP was an initiative to convene engineering faculty, staff, and students around a major project that combines user-centered design, wearable technology, and machine learning to advance social sustainability. Students engaged in novel approaches to human centered design to create easier-to-use interfaces for smart technologies. STEP emphasized the triple bottom line of providing a transformative educational experience, achieving real-world impact, and shifting the financial model of higher education. The course project centered around creating augmented reality technology for people who are blind with the aim of providing tools to more naturally and easily navigate activities of daily living. Course created and taught by Sam Michalka (computational neuroscience), Paul Ruvolo (computer science) and Alessandra Ferzoco (measurement science). I was a fourth, support teaching team member in the inaugural year (2022), while Dean of Faculty.