In this special episode of How'd You Think of That, Temple Grandin talks with two winners of the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair - Natasha Kulviwat (Jericho High School, NY) and Saathvik Kannan (Hickman High School, MO) about their projects and the experience that lead them to STEM.

Natasha and Saathvik both took unconventional paths that ultimately led them to their dream research projects. In this episode they share their novel approaches towards a career in STEM. 

Matthew Wappett is executive director of the Utah State University Institute for Disability, Research, Policy, and Practice. Grandin and Wappett discuss the institute's accomplishments and ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive society and education system.

Dr. Tess Guy recently moved from Salt Lake City and is excited to be back near the ocean. She did her undergraduate degree at the University of California, San Diego, and has spent the last 18 years in Utah waiting for a chance to get back to sea level. Tess graduated with her DVM from Washington State University/Utah State University in 2021. This is her second career after spending 10+ years as an environmental research chemist. Her special interests include radiology, sports medicine and orthopedics, preventative medicine, dermatology, behavior issues, and nutrition. Tess enjoys hiking, riding her horse, paddle boarding, painting, and conservation/environmental efforts. With her wife, Angela, she has two Great Danes, Leia and Max, a herd mix breed, named Piper, two Maine Coon mixes, Hurley and Willow, and two horses, Vader and Jen.

In this episode of How’d You of That, Grandin and Streb illuminate the process of machinery design and how it inspires dreams and brings out skills and innovations. They also share their insights on how to open doors to careers and opportunities.  

MacArthur “Genius” Award-winner, Elizabeth Streb has dived through glass, allowed a ton of dirt to fall on her head, walked down (the outside of) London’s City Hall, and set herself on fire, among other feats of extreme action. Her popular book, STREB: How to Become an Extreme Action Hero (Feminist Press), was made into a hit documentary, Born to Fly directed by Catherine Gund (Aubin Pictures), which premiered at SXSW and received an extended run at The Film Forum in New York City in 2014. Streb founded the STREB Extreme Action Company in 1979. In 2003, she established SLAM, the STREB Lab for Action Mechanics, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. SLAM’s garage doors are always open: anyone and everyone can come in, watch rehearsals, take classes, and learn to fly.

In this conclusion of Maker space Gurus, Kathleen White and Mauro Devlin-Clancy discuss some of the challenges educators are facing in this new uncharted era of Chat GPT - and why maker spaces should be geared for everyone, from all backgrounds, genders and colors. 

Maura Devlin-Clancy is Coordinator of MakerSPHERE and Faculty in Computer Networking & Information Technology at City College of San Francisco. Her work focuses on hands-on teaching and learning strategies that support non-traditional students, particularly women and underrepresented students in tech and STEAM. 

In MakerSPHERE, their network of makerspaces across CCSF, each and every student will find an open door to courses, work-based learning and other opportunities that can lead to high paying jobs and a way to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others. 

Kathleen White is the Former Chair of Child Development and Family Studies Department, and Teacher Prep Program Coordinator at City College of San Francisco. 

U.S states face a shortage in qualified STEM/CTE instructors to effectively prepare high school and community college students for careers. Long-time educators Maura Devlin-Clancy and Kathleen White have developed Makerspace experiences and new ways of teaching to help recruit and grow a diverse teaching workforce. They join Temple Grandin to discuss their NSF funded project, Growing CTE/STEM Teachers. 

Maura Devlin-Clancy is Coordinator of MakerSPHERE and Faculty in Computer Networking & Information Technology at City College of San Francisco. Her work focuses on hands-on teaching and learning strategies that support non-traditional students, particularly women and underrepresented students in tech and STEAM. 

In MakerSPHERE, their network of makerspaces across CCSF, each and every student will find an open door to courses, work-based learning and other opportunities that can lead to high paying jobs and a way to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others. 

Kathleen White is the Former Chair of Child Development and Family Studies Department, and Teacher Prep Program Coordinator at City College of San Francisco. 

John Luft, Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program Manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, talks to Temple Grandin about the Division’s longtime monitoring of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem and its successes working with the lake’s brine shrimp industry. They also discuss how one individual can set a cascade of positive environmental changes. 

John Luft, along with avian and aquatic biologists, have developed a partnership with the brine shrimp industry to monitor and manage the commercial fishery on Great Salt Lake through research and conservation. He also supervises a group of wetland managers that oversee Waterfowl Management Areas (WMA’s) encompassing about 100,000 acres along the east shore of Great Salt Lake. 

Scientists Bonnie Baxter, Founder of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College and Jaime Butler, Great Salt Lake 'Nerd', discuss the bounties and struggles of the Great Salt Lake.

Dr. Baxter studies the photobiology of halophiles (salt-tolerant bacteria) and microbial diversity of Great Salt Lake (GSL)with her undergraduate students. She is interested in the astrobiology applications of extremely hypersaline ecosystems, in particular resistance to ultraviolet light and desiccation by halophiles. Recently her students have been engaged in projects involving ancient biomolecules in salt, microbial composition of GSL stromatolites, and lake microbial mercury methylation. Dr. Baxter is also dedicated to integration of research in undergraduate science education and to outreach efforts that inspire learning and stewardship. She is also engaged in efforts to support underrepresented groups in STEM fields. All of these interests merge in her role as Director of Great Salt Lake Institute. 

Dr. Baxter studies the photobiology of halophiles (salt-tolerant bacteria) and microbial diversity of Great Salt Lake (GSL)with her undergraduate students. She is interested in the astrobiology applications of extremely hypersaline ecosystems, in particular resistance to ultraviolet light and desiccation by halophiles. Recently her students have been engaged in projects involving ancient biomolecules in salt, microbial composition of GSL stromatolites, and lake microbial mercury methylation. Dr. Baxter is also dedicated to integration of research in undergraduate science education and to outreach efforts that inspire learning and stewardship. She is also engaged in efforts to support underrepresented groups in STEM fields. All of these interests merge in her role as Director of Great Salt Lake Institute.