Science Gets Real
Credit: Hector Martinez
First-year student Arturo Pedraza Flores built a tabletop device that models how molten salt moves through a fission reactor. The patent-pending device could help nuclear engineers build better power plants.
It’s just one of many dreams becoming a reality at a new College of Natural Sciences makerspace, which is open to all students. It features laser cutters, 3D printers, electronics supplies, sewing machines and more. Students can build projects for classes, tools to help with their research or just explore their creativity and curiosity.
Patrick Benfield, the assistant professor of practice who runs the space, is creating a warm and welcoming community where students with different backgrounds and skill sets can collaborate.
“We want students to feel safe to fail,” he says. “Even if they fail really hard, they get supported here and help navigating that failure until they get to that success at the end. That’s really a life skill.”
