Unfortunately, due to a class conflict I was unable to attend the pre-Makethon meeting. In the meantime, I have planned meetings with two different professors who are well accomplished in their areas.
First, a week or so back, my teammate, Maryam and I met with Deanna McDonagh, professor of Art and Design. She was thrilled to view our project ideas and progress and offered a great deal of support to our cause. Her ideation process was incredibly interesting as she had a large amount of ideas that seemed outlandish. Although some of these brainstormed ideas seemed impossible, it did she had no doubt in the possibilities. When speaking further about these beyond creative concepts, Deanna made the point that everything we have today was once considered impossible. Cars that drive themselves, men on the moon, phones that can access any amount of information in seconds were all just ideas that were once scoffed at. Some of the less feasible suggestions that we came up with during our meeting were biodegradable handrail covers that would grow flowers where they were left. Although something like this may seem ridiculous, the exercise helped us really grasp the possibilities that we may be capable of by the end of the year. On the other hand, the most firm idea that we had presented to Deanna was a removable handrail that could be snapped into the aluminum wheel much more easily.
After discussing our project deeper, we decided our next step was to find the proper material with which we will create our product. In order to find the best material, we have decided to meet with Professor Goodman, a materials science professor in engineering. I took a class with him my junior year as a part of the Technology and management program. My group will meet with him this upcoming Friday and hopefully will be able to move forward after this.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Gies College of Business
Hi Elisa,
I believe Deanna McDonagh advice should be embraced by everyone. I once had a professor who said that kids are some of the smartest people in the world because they don’t believe in limitations. I believe innovation is more about reaching for the stars than people realize. I am excited to see if your team actually decides to go with a safe or progressive idea.