The 5,000-square-foot design and learning lab, known as the Duke Engineering Design POD, is what initially drew Aaron Kyle, professor of the practice in the department of biomedical engineering, to the university. “[The POD] was one of the things that attracted me to coming to Duke,” he said. “The first time I saw it and the resources available to students I thought wow, this is the sort of lab in which I want to be teaching.”
Coupled with Kyle’s passion for design is his commitment to community engagement. The Outreach Design Education (ODE) program he leads focuses on engaging students in Durham Public Schools with resources available at Duke to ignite a deeper passion for and understanding of engineering.
Included in ODE’s initiatives are the annual Middle School Hackathons, events that span two days and get students hitting the ground running on solving design problems, with lessons led by Kyle and exercises that follow. This year, 26 students from Lowe’s Grove Middle School participated, with graduate and undergraduate Duke students providing support throughout the event.
First, a bit of self-mythologizing: I’ve known that I wanted to be an engineer since I was 8 years old. I wish I could say that I was a young Lewis Latimer or Garrett Morgan, blessed with a spirit of innovation and inventing things throughout childhood, but this was not the case.
My origin is more from pop culture than early genius. First, I was infatuated with the old “Transformers” TV show and toys. Beyond enjoying the internecine warfare between Autobots and Decepticons, I often found myself asking: How could you create a living robot? Would it eat, sleep, poop? (Again, I was a little boy.) I didn’t know it then, but these were early, poorly formed engineering design questions.
Before making his way to Durham, North Carolina from New York City, Aaron Kyle firmly believed that engineering design was a great way to get young people engaged in STEM learning. Since shifting from an urban metropolis to a smaller, rural area, that conviction has only been elevated.
The professor of the practice in biomedical engineering at Duke also knew that it was equally important for underserved and underrepresented groups interested in the field to be exposed to STEM and have ample opportunity to apply their knowledge there.
Community outreach and engagement are at the core of what Kyle aims to accomplish as both an academic and an educator. They play pivotal roles in fostering connections, promoting education and driving positive change within STEM so that anyone can get involved and contribute their own unique perspective. One inspiring example of effective community outreach that holds lessons for anyone working in this space can be found through Kyle’s Outreach Design Education (ODE) program here at Duke University.
When Aaron Kyle joined Duke Biomedical Engineering in July 2022, one of his immediate goals was to develop an outreach program that could help younger students—particularly underrepresented minority students—learn about engineering and design concepts.
That program has come to fruition in the form of Outreach Design Education, or ODE for short.
ODE was developed to give students the practical skills to both identify problems and develop solutions using basic engineering skills. The goal, Kyle says, is for the students to transform an idea from a far-off concept into a practical, finished project. In his position as a professor of the practice in Duke BME, Kyle will work with the Duke community on these efforts, leveraging the design instructors and student leaders within Duke BME to help him reach and energize the next generation of engineers.
Aaron Kyle joined Duke University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering as a Professor of the Practice beginning July 1, 2022. With vast experience in engineering education, Kyle will develop new design courses that will help students learn how to apply engineering concepts to address biomedical problems.
Prior to his arrival at Duke, Kyle was a senior lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, where his work focused on improving engineering education for students of all levels. In his new role at Duke, Kyle will use his expertise to help expand and improve Duke BME’s senior design and bioinstrumentation courses and Duke Engineering’s signature First-Year Design program. Kyle will also help launch new design courses for sophomore and junior BME students. He is also interested in developing curricular tools for integration of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice considerations into engineering education.
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