Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Students 'nerd out' as they build bionic hand

May 19, 2022

See the full article: https://www.cals.iastate.edu/features/2022/innovation-and-entrepreneurship-stud…

Undergraduates work on bionic hand — From left, Benjamin Freiberg, junior in kinesiology and health, Rebekah Petersen, sophomore in pre-athletic training, and Johnathon Lujan, junior in kinesiology and health, work on a bionic hand they, along with their classmates, built during the spring semester.

By Whitney Baxter, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences communications specialist

What do you get when you combine students from life sciences and engineering majors at Iowa State University? A collection of great minds eager to tackle innovative projects in class.

Karri Haen Whitmer, teaching professor in genetics, development and cell biology, is one of nine College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty who were selected for the new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows Program. Sponsored by the Dean’s Office of Academic Innovation and Start Something College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the program aims to expand a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among CALS faculty.

Learn more about this program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences article by Whitney Baxter, "Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Students 'nerd out' as they build bionic hand.

Bionic hand — Components of a bionic hand the students created were made by a 3D printer in the Student Innovation Center on campus.

Karri Haen Whitmer, GDCB associate chair for teaching and teaching professor — Karri Haen Whitmer, teaching professor in genetics, development and cell biology, demonstrates how muscle response can be tracked using electromyography. Students in her experimental class spent the past semester learning about bionics technologies and using that newfound knowledge to build a bionic hand.