Chapman’s Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI) pushes our first and second-year students to think big about the most challenging issues facing our society. From tackling the issue of microplastics in the ocean, to designing and building an insulin pump with 3D printing, to developing apps to help children with autism, our students work from their very
At the end of the Fall semester, I was offered a position as an assistant in the Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI) Makerspace. It was very rewarding to help the program transform an old organic chemistry lab into a creative space for students to explore interdisciplinary solutions with sophisticated equipment. The new Makerspace includes everything from
As the Grand Challenges Initiative begins to close out its first year at Chapman University, a fuller picture of what its inaugural student class will be working on has formed. The next year of work will be spent developing out ideas, conducting more tests, and communicating their findings. For Freshman Monroe Roush, Ashley Nichols, and
Last Friday, Schmid College hosted its inaugural Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI) Networking Event, where first-year students in the GCI spent the morning making connections with industry professionals and science professors in an effort to begin building their first professional network and necessary professional skills. Nearly 80 GCI students, science professors and industry professionals attended Friday’s
Periodically, we publish essays from Professor Andrew Lyon‘s Honors 389 course “The Science Blender”, which is the basis for Schmid College’s Grand Challenges Initiative. In HON 389, students are asked to reflect on different aspects of tackling a grand challenge. In this essay, student’s were asked to research and analyze an interdisciplinary breakthrough of their choosing. Many young children’s first experience with hybridization in nature is with
On Thursday, May 4th, I will have the pleasure of sharing the stage with Professor Georgiana Bostean during Lunch at the Forum hosted by Chapman University’s Town and Gown. I will maintain the feeling of suspense surrounding that event by not revealing too much about our presentation, but it is worth noting that Professor Bostean
The Schmid College Grand Challenges Initiative is a student-driven program that develops learners who strive to explore, make connections, seek answers, and solve big problems. Launching in the fall 2017 semester, we will immerse students in small (~5 person) teams composed of individuals from different disciplines, backgrounds, and perspectives. Working together from day one, our
When I reflect upon being a scientist, three words come to mind: fascination, frustration, and exhilaration. A scientist’s fascination comes from the wonder of trying to understand and decipher the vast complexity of the world around us. Frustration creeps in as we discover how challenging that complexity is, and how unsophisticated some of our scientific
Periodically, we publish essays from Professor Andrew Lyon‘s Honors 389 course “The Science Blender”, which is the basis for Schmid College’s Grand Challenges Initiative. In HON 389, students are asked to reflect on different aspects of tackling a grand challenge. In this essay, student’s were asked to research and analyze an interdisciplinary breakthrough of their choosing. A recent breakthrough in science has offered the possibility
Periodically, we publish essays from Professor Andrew Lyon‘s Honors 389 course “The Science Blender”, which is the basis for Schmid College’s Grand Challenges Initiative. In HON 389, students are asked to reflect on different aspects of tackling a grand challenge. In this essay, student’s were asked to research and analyze an interdisciplinary breakthrough of their choosing. Life stays in motion. We as humans kept our