STEAM Factory helps Ohio State connect, collaborate across disciplines

Posted: 

STEM, the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is now firmly established in the vernacular of education, from elementary school through post-doc. Articles in journals and mass media about the importance of STEM appear daily, and rightly so.

But can you blame the Arts for maybe being a little miffed, a little steamed, at not being invited to the education acronym party?

Some forward-thinkers at The Ohio State University are revising the guest list with the creation of The STEAM Factory.

The STEAM Factory is a collaborative space and public showcase for OSU faculty, postdocs and staff working in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. It was launched to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in the OSU community and to share research, technology and pedagogy in creative new ways to a broader audience.

Most credit the creation of the “STEM to STEAM” movement to Rhode Island School of Design President John Maeda. The goal is to foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.

The STEAM Factory at Ohio State utilizes all forms of transformative and traditional information exchange. This includes, but is not limited to, modern on-line distance learning and weekly face-time with the Columbus community during open public events.

On Saturdays during the school year, The STEAM Factory sets up three interactive presentations by OSU academics about research and projects at the 400 West Rich Street Market in Franklinton, a Columbus neighborhood. Some of the projects presented have included a database for gesture-driven workloads and a Kinect videogame for stroke-victim rehabilitation.

Those affiliated with OSU and who are looking for creative ways to share work and present research or technology to the public can fill out a short application to showcase that work at a STEAM event and receive feedback from the Columbus community.

Arnab Nandi, a founding director of the STEAM Factory and Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, believes putting Arts at equal footing with STEM is vital at a large university.

“Ohio State’s aspiration towards eminence relies on sustained innovation and creativity, which we think STEAM is a great platform for,” Nandi said. “Given how big the university is, being able to discover amazing research in the building next door is often a challenge. The STEAM Factory serves as a platform to showcase research and foster conversation, which lets faculty, staff and postdocs from every part of OSU be involved and engage with each other.”

Central to The STEAM Factory’s vision is to engage with people outside of academia on a regular basis.

“Doing this lets us maintain a relationship with the community around us,” he says. “It exposes parents, children and OSU alumni to discover all the cool stuff happening at OSU and also provides us researchers with unique insights that help inspire our research.”

Category: Faculty