In STEM, the class learns and focuses on topics related to the STEM I fair in February. At the beginning of the year, each student brainstormed about a project by creating mind maps and deciding what interested him or her most. Then he or she would perform research on topics related to the field in which their project lies while also creating necessary documents for the project in STW. My STEM I project involved creating an alternative bullet-proof material to Carbon Kevlar that utilizes the felting technique, making the material non-synthetic, cheaper than other bullet-proof materials, and much more flexible.

This assignment was part of the SEFOS paperwork forms that was required to be submitted onto the MSSEF website for approving the project and giving permission for testing. The research plan states the main rationale of the project, the researchable question, the preliminary procedures for the entire project, risk and safety factors, data analysis procedures, discussion of results and conclusions, and a bibliography with five relevant sources cited in MLA 8 format.

For STEM I, each student is required to construct a poster and present his or her STEM project at WPI in February, below is my final February poster file which includes the problem statement, research performed, data collection, analysis, and conclusion.

The STEM II project at Mass Academy places students into teams of three to create an assistive device that addressed a specified request from a client. My team and I were responsible for creating an assistive device that allowed people with limited grip strength and or contractures to independently play the drum . On the team, I was responsible for creating the prototype for the worst case of low grip strength, where the user is completely unable to use his or her hand’s grip strength while my teammates focused on less severe cases of low grip strength. Below is a figure displaying the latest prototype for my design.