NYU and the White House Celebrate and Create the 'Next Generation of Makers'

NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering has been Creating the Makers of Tomorrow Since 1854

Joins President Barack Obama in Celebrating National Day of Making

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NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Jun 18, 2014, 06:00 ET

BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to President Barack Obama's call to empower America's students and entrepreneurs to invent the future—and in conjunction with the first-ever White House Maker Faire being held today—the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering announced its participation in the National Day of Making Activities (#NationOfMakers). It joined more than 150 universities signing a letter proclaiming the importance of makers to society.

From the Panama Canal locks to the Brooklyn Bridge cables, from semiconductors to cordless phones, the "makers" of the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering have been making and remaking the world long before the Maker Movement became a proper noun. NYU School of Engineering's makers have had a hand in the creation of ATM machines, bar codes, radar, penicillin, polymers, elevator brakes, light beer, and more.

Today, the school celebrates the #NationOfMakers.

"Whether entrepreneurs or scholars, the Maker Movement has enabled our community to visualize and commercialize their creativity," said Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, president and dean of the NYU School of Engineering.

"Making" is part of the school's DNA, as evidenced by student clubs, makers' spaces, robotic fish and other cutting-edge research displayed during the annual Research Expo—a celebration of each academic department's accomplishments, many of which include the hard work of young makers.

The NYU School of Engineering will participate in the national day of making through events involving two of its nationally recognized initiatives: Its Center for K-12 STEM Education and its startup business incubator network.

Today, June 18, the Center for K-12 STEM Education will hold student teacher training for the Summer Science of Smart Cities Program, which teaches middle school students about energy, urban infrastructure, transportation, and wireless communications. As part of the school's effort to engage young women in the STEM subjects, half of the 54 participating students will be girls. The program is made possible through the support of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, National Grid, Consolidated Edison, The Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Fund, and Forest City Ratner Companies.
Tonight, the Cleantech Startups Showcase will highlight five member companies of the NYU School of Engineering Incubator network and another three that have already graduated to larger spaces, along with selected startups from throughout New York State. The showcase is a demonstration platform for innovative cleantech companies that are developing groundbreaking, carbon-reducing technologies. Maker companies participating include Radiator Labs, HEVO Power, Voltaiq, Sistine Solar, and ThinkEco. The invitation-only event is co-sponsored by the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Resilient Economy (NYC ACRE), NECEC and Cleantech Open Northeast, and will take place at the New York Academy of Sciences.

The NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering dates to 1854, when the NYU School of Civil Engineering and Architecture as well as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly) were founded. Their successor institutions merged in January 2014 to create a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to programs at its main campus in downtown Brooklyn, it is closely connected to engineering programs in NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai, and it operates business incubators in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.

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SOURCE NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering