TEDxUNC conference shines light on collaborative biomedical engineering

People attending the Feb. 27 TEDxUNC conference will learn about 3D printing and biomedical engineering at an event called BME Betabox.

BME Betabox is a collaboration between UNC and N.C. State University’s joint biomedical engineering department and Betabox, a Raleigh startup that creates mobile prototyping labs from shipping units.

The Betabox, which will be in Polk Place all day during the conference, is equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, 3D design software, white boards and projectors.

Conference co-curator Olivia Nicolaus said the BME Betabox event fits in perfectly with the TEDxUNC conference.

“We want to give people the opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and engage with them. The talks are times for them to take in ideas from speakers. The breakout session provides time to get involved and participate with the ideas themselves. This will include things like laser cutting and design thinking that allow you to get involved in the process,” Nicolaus said.

Mason McClanahan, a student ambassador in the biomedical engineering department, said the event will set a foundation for the department’s future educational outreach workshops, which will lead to more design, more prototyping and more philanthropy in the future.

“Ideally, this event is a pilot that can be developed into a tool for future use by the department to do community outreach,” McClanahan said.

Devin Hubbard, a lecturer in the department, said he was hopeful the Betabox collaboration would soon get off the ground.

He said the end goal is to be able to take this all over North Carolina to places inside and outside the Triangle, including high schools and community colleges, and to anyone who doesn’t have access to this equipment but could greatly benefit from it.

Nicolaus said the collaboration is exceptional in that it is between a student group, an academic department and a startup company.

“There will be lots of design thinking and rapid prototyping activities as well as opportunities for people to learn about them in and around the Betabox,” Nicolaus said.

She said the theme of the conference is an exploration of the human body, which is being looked at through four different lenses: issues, inputs, outputs and frontiers.

“Issues include sexuality, race, and gender,” Nicolaus said.

“Inputs relate to how we take care of our bodies, categories of which would be eating, sleeping and meditation. Output is how we use our body as a tool for artistic and athletic expression. Finally, frontiers look to the future. They are concerned with how technology and data can push the body to new places.”

Co-curator Ashita Gona said she wants people to walk away with an interdisciplinary perspective on the human body. She said her hope is that people will grasp the ideas that are being offered to them, as well as form their own.

“We want to provide people a great environment to think about the human body and what it means to be human,” Gona said.

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