Rice University hosts annually a summer academy for high school students through the joint efforts of Science Academy of South Texas (SAST) and Rice’s Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (IBB). This year, the Biomaterials Lab (BML) hosted workshops for these students as a part of their summer academy. The students were introduced to the topics of 3D printing and bioprinting via a series of lectures and hands-on experience.
The BML manager, Dr. Uday Jammalamadaka gave presentations on various applications of 3D printing in bioengineering and health care to inform students about the challenges and exciting advances in these fields. The students showed great enthusiasm to learn about these applications and how the BML is contributing to the advancement of biomaterials research. Touring the BML facility, the students were introduced to the state-of-the-art equipment, various 3D printing techniques and biomaterial characterization methods.
The students had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on the Lumen X bioprinter and desktop scanning electron microscope. The students were guided to 3D print a biocompatible device using digital light processing technology and a biocompatible biomaterial. Later, the students analyzed a few 3D printed scaffolds and biomaterials using the desktop scanning electron microscope (SEM). The ease of using a desktop SEM helped students understand the principles of electron microscopy and its use in characterizing biomaterials and medical devices. The students were amazed by this experience, sparking interests in STEM and bioengineering in particular.
As a final engineering project, the students assembled e-nable prosthetic device, the phoenix hand. All the parts necessary for the prosthetic device were 3D printed using the Stratasys Fortus 450 3D printer. Students formed groups of four and assembled the prosthetic arm demonstrating teamwork. The teams were able to successfully assemble the prosthetic device and were excited to see it in action.
