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Ricardo graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in May of 2014. He started his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Fall of 2014. He joined the Innovation, Design Reasoning, Engineering Education, and Methods (IDREEM) Lab. Ricardo is currently working on measuring the impact of university maker spaces like the Invention Studio on students' retention in STEM related field, creativity, and engineering design confidence.

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Craig Forest is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech where he also holds program faculty positions in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. He is a Fellow at the Allen Brain Institute in Seattle WA and he is one of the inaugural recipients of the NIH BRAIN Initiative Grants, a national research effort to invent the next generation of neuroscience and neuroengineering tools. He is cofounder/organizer of one of the largest undergraduate invention competitions in the US—The InVenture Prize, and founder/organizer of one of the largest student-run prototyping facilities in the US—The Invention Studio. He was named Engineer of the Year in Education for the state of Georgia (2013).

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Dr. Robert Nagel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University. Dr. Nagel joined the James Madison University after completing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. He has a B.S. from Trine University and a M.S. from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, both in mechanical engineering. Since joining James Madison University, Nagel has helped to develop and teach the six course engineering design sequence which represents the spine of the curriculum for the Department of Engineering. The research and teaching interests of Dr. Nagel tend to revolve around engineering design and engineering design education, and in particular, the design conceptualization phase of the design process. He has performed research with the US Army Chemical Corps, General Motors Research and Development Center, and the US Air Force Academy, and he has received grants from the NSF, the EPA, and General Motors Corporation.

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Dr Wendy C. Newstetter is the Director of Educational Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.

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Dr. Kimberly G. Talley is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, Senior Research Fellow and Maker Space Co-Director for the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research at Texas State University, and a licensed Professional Engineer. She received her Ph.D. and M.S.E. from the University of Texas at Austin in Structural Engineering. Her undergraduate degrees in History and in Construction Engineering and Management are from North Carolina State University. Dr. Talley teaches courses in the Construction Science and Management Program, and her research focus is in student engagement and retention in engineering and engineering technology education. Contact: kgt5@txstate.edu

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Dr. Shaunna Smith is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis on technology integration and art education. Her teaching and research explore how the hands-on use of design-based technologies (e.g. digital fabrication, 3D modeling and printing, computer programming, and DIY robotics) can impact multidisciplinary learning that transcends traditional content contexts (e.g. arts-based STEM integration). At her free mobile makerspace for K-12 students and teachers, The MAKE Lab (http://themakelab.wp.txstate.edu), she is currently researching how recurring experiences within these design-based technologies impact self-efficacy and positive attitudes toward failure.

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Dr. Julie S. Linsey is an Assistant Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technological. Dr. Linsey received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas. Her research area is design cognition including systematic methods and tools for innovative design with a particular focus on concept generation and design-by-analogy. Her research seeks to understand designers’ cognitive processes with the goal of creating better tools and approaches to enhance engineering design. She has authored over 100 technical publications including twenty-three journal papers, five book chapters, and she holds two patents.

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