Li's team takes origami folding to DC STEM event

Associate Professor Suyi Li led staff and students in a STEM outreach event on Sunday, April 2, in the Washington DC area. The event drew hundreds of K-12 students from the area who came to National Harbor to participate in hands-on activities sponsored by industries, nonprofits, and educational insititutions.

The outreach preceded the events of Sea-Air-Space, The largest maritime expo in the US. The annual event brings together the US defense industry and key military decision-makers for three days of informative educational sessions, important policy discussions, and a dynamic exhibit hall floor. The Navy League of the United States, owns and operates the event, and the STEM expo is hosted the Sunday before the start of the convention at no charge to the students who come to participate.

Mechanical Engineering has been a participant in the exhibit hall portion of Sea-Air-Space for the past three years, and added a contribution to the STEM expo this year. Li joined the faculty nearly a year ago, and came with experience in sharing origami folding with K-12 students.

Li's lab brings together the principles of science, technology, engineering, and math seamlessly, and also includes art. By demonstrating how the folds of origami add strength and versatility to a material, Li's team engages learners to rethink the possibilities of incorporating the discipline into acoustics, architecture, and other cross-discilinary applications.