Category Archives: Lab Updates

Inside Stony Brook University’s Innovation Lab, Where 3D Printers Are Creating Medical Devices Of The Future

December 15, 2015Lab Updatesabullock

Medical Daily, a website which covers the latest health news, scientific trends, and medical information, featured the Innovation Lab in an article. They highlighted the medical devices that are being printed in the lab. Some of these devices include the prosthetic arm printed by lab intern Ellie Evans, over the summer, and Akshay Asok, the Innovation Lab’s technical lead, even printed out ear prosthesis, that amplify hearing.

Asok goes on to discuss the financial benefits for 3D printing medical devices, especially prosthesis. Lab member, Paul Phillipsberg, even discusses the brain wave technology he is working with,. His goal for this technology is to make a drone fly perfectly with it. Yes, he wants to fly a drone using just his brain.

3D printing holds many benefits for the future, especially to advance medicine. Asok even touches on what else can be done with 3D printed prosthesis and brain wave technology.

Read the full article here.

Congratulations Allisha!

December 3, 2015Lab Updatesabullock

The Innovation Lab would like to congratulate one of our own. Allisha Pavez, a Innovation Lab staff member and 3D print guru, was awarded the first ever Intelligent Product Solutions Scholarship.

Allisha is a Junior studying mechanical engineering and University Scholar. She will be awarded an annual $2,500 scholarship until she graduates.

“By creating this scholarship, we hope to help support the education and careers of promising female engineering students,” said Mitch Maiman, president of Intelligent Product Solutions. “Allisha is the first recipient of this award, and was selected as part of our commitment to supporting hard working, energetic and bright women in technology.”

To read more about Allisha’s career goal and interests, check out the IPS blog for the full article.

We are very proud.

I-Lab at CEWIT 2015

October 23, 2015Events, Lab Updates, Miscctasso

This past Monday, October 19th, 2015, the Innovation Lab participated in the 12th International Conference & Expo on Emerging Technologies for a Smarter World (CEWIT2015). The conference, originally known as the International Conference on Cutting-Edge Wireless & Information Technologies, is the premier international forum on the applications of emerging technologies in infrastructure, healthcare, and energy, which are three of the most critical components of a smarter global environment. This conference is organized by the New York State Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) located at Stony Brook University in New York. The conference was located in the Melville Marriot in Long Island, NY.

In order to be featured at this year’s CEWIT expo, the Innovation Lab, like all participants, had to submit an abstract describing their technical contributions highlighting end-to-end technical solutions, applications and systems. The Innovation Lab presented lab member Kelly Smith’s silk screen project, where she made tote bags using the silk screen and sewing machine, Samiha Shakil and Alysha Bullock’s project where they were able to create a fabric using arduino technology, the prototype bathrooms high school students, Drew Kaplan and Shakeel Faizy, created with the 3D printer for cerebral palsy patients (link to blog post covering it here), and Allisha Parvez’s 3D printed scientific models of new horizon satellites.

During the expo, the I-Lab had a table set up where they handed out business cards, had a 3D printer on display, handed out vinyl-cut Innovation Lab designs, and answered all questions about what we do here at Stony Brook University’s Innovation Lab.

Below are some photos taken of the team and their table at CEWIT 2015:

IP Policy Workshop Success!

October 2, 2015Events, Lab Updatesctasso

This past Wednesday, September 30th, 2015, The Innovation Lab had their very first IP (Intellectual Property) policy workshop!

Allison Singh, an experienced IP lawyer, came in to answer all questions concerning IP policy. Singh has worked with Perfumania Holdings, Inc. and Quality King Distributors, Inc. Singh has also authored Getting Over Not Getting In- A College Rejection Guide, and Rearranged!

At the workshop, Singh spoke about trademarks, copyright, patents and answered questions/listened to proposals considering Wolfie Tank.

Here are some pictures from the workshop:

Prosthetic Printing In the Innovation Lab

September 9, 2015Lab Updates, Misc, Tech Newsabullock

Ellie Evans – A student intern during the Summer of 2015 printed and assembled a Prosthetic Hand, using the Innovation Lab’s 3D printers. Ellie had the idea from e-Nable project. E-Nable project is a global network of volunteers using 3D printing to give helping hands to kids that don’t have one. Ellie is a Political Science major at the University of Rhode Island. However, she became an intern at the SBU Innovation Lab after hearing about the various technologies in the facility that student’s have free access to.

Ellie said that she learned everything from basics of how to use a 3D printer and filament, to the different printers it takes to print finer/bigger objects. While assembling the pieces she had to figure out how tension worked in a hand, as well as how the pieces fit together. Ellie adapted the concept of “Tunnel Vision”, when working on long term projects that use 3D printers. Ellie describes “Tunnel Vision” as, when you know a piece is supposed to go together a certain way, but just don’t see why it isn’t work. The project was difficult, but Ellie said that if it wasn’t for her great colleagues in the lab who were always available to lend a hand or to look at the project from a different perspective; this made her job a little easier.

As this being the first prototype of this kind to being developed in the lab the team was excited to see the final project.

This is one of the many projects that are challenging students and staff alike at the SBU Innovation Lab.

High school researchers design a bathroom for cerebral palsy patients

September 2, 2015Lab Updatesctasso

This past summer two high school researchers, Drew Kaplan and Shakeel Faizy, began to design a bathroom system for individuals with extreme disabilities such as cerebral palsy. This bathroom design Drew and Shakeel have created will allow individuals who cannot move on their own, and lack motor skills, to use the bathroom without the aid of others.

The inspiration for this project came from Shakeel, whose brother suffers from cerebral palsy. Shakeel’s brother’s condition requires constant aid and assistance from his family, with the creation of a bathroom like the prototype Drew and Shakeel are working on, his brother would be able to use the bathroom on his own.

When creating their design, Drew and Shakeel analyzed the aspects of bathroom usage that they found most important. The next step was redesigning a normal bathroom for more accessible use.

Here is an image of the bathroom system:

The bathroom consists of five main parts: it includes a rotating platform, a low to the ground shelf, for easy access,
a sink, a toilet, and a bath/dryer unit. Each station is engineered with automatic technology to improve and simplify hygiene.

In the Innovation Lab, Drew and Shakeel 3D printed the platform, chair, and tub/shower unit of our design. They used TinkerCAD to design the prototype for 3D printing. As of now, the duo is still working on the sink, toilet, and shelf designs.

Their next step is to program the chair to move into and out of the tub on a small embedded motor.

We look forward to what is to come from these two bright gentlemen!

Below is an image of both Drew (right) and Shakeel (left) holding the 3D printed prototypes they created in the lab.

Thank You MakerBridge!

August 26, 2015Lab Updatesabullock

Dale Grover of Maker Works in Ann Arbor says that a makerspace is

“TOOLS + SUPPORT + COMMUNITY”.We would like to thank MakerBridge for including us in their community by listing the Innovation Lab on their website. We are the only institution in Long Island to be featured! Founded by Sharona Ginsberg, an alumna of University of Michigan School of Information; MakerBridge is a community that welcomes all markers. However, it focuses on showcasing and helping librarians, teachers and other educators.

Check out MakerBridge for information on additional makerspaces, upcoming maker fairs and more.

First Workshop of the Year; Maker Mentality!

August 12, 2015Events, Lab Updatesctasso

Come September 2nd, between the 1-2:20 pm in Harriman 210 (The Innovation Lab), to the Innovation Lab’s first workshop of the Fall 2015 semester!

This is the Maker Mentality workshop, and it will inform all attendants on what exactly it means to be a maker, the tools and resources needed to get started, the various ways in which the Maker Movement is impacting the modern world, and the cool, interesting ways in which you can get started here at the lab!

The Maker Movement is a movement that combines entrepreneurial spirit with modern technology. This movement accounts for approximately 28 million small businesses and the creation of 8 million new jobs in the U.S.

Maker’s use technology to help make everyday living simpler and more efficient, create new boundaries for the uses of modern technology, start up new businesses, and most importantly, use their imagination as fuel for innovation.

Here is a nice graphic with some information about the Maker Movement:

During the workshop we will provide information on the resources we and others can offer to get started in the maker community, such as: Maker festivals, events, meetups, etc.

The Innovation Lab from its opening has put much effort into networking in the local maker community, and will help you get your foot in the door.

Make sure to come September 2nd!

iLab T-Shirts!

July 10, 2015Lab Updatesctasso

The Innovation Lab team just recently designed and made their own t-shirts!

The t-shirts include the Innovation Lab’s logo, motto, #SBUcreate, and the lab’s associations (College of Business and Research Technologies). See images below for a peek at the shirt.

The creation of the Innovation Lab’s t-shirts not only mark another step in the lab’s progress of displaying their identity and values, but also serve as a landmark in the development of the I-lab team!

This summer the Innovation Lab hired many new employees from all disciplines, ranging from Chemical Engineering to English. Being a cross-disciplinary lab, having staff from a variety of majors has helped in developing and making the lab a place for all students, no matter what they study.

Be prepared to see the I-Lab shirts this summer and the upcoming semester, as the iLab team will continue to expand and make its presence known on campus!

WISE Workshop Part 1!

July 8, 2015Lab Updatesctasso

Last week on Wednesday, July 1st, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), brought their members to the Innovation Lab to learn about the lab and the technology we offer. The members that came were between the ages of 12-13.

Upon entering the lab, members of our team, Nancy, Allisha, Ellie, and Samiha, took them on an orientation of the lab to inform and acquaint them about the facility. The WISE members were given two presentations: one on the Green Screen and another on the 3D printer and 3D printing.

Members of the Innovation Lab team demonstrated to WISE students how to use the 3D printer, how to use TinkerCad–a 3D printing software–,how to explore with Google Cardboard, and how to take pictures using the Green Screen and use Green Screen apps.

WISE students quickly learned the information taught to them, and did not hesitate to get right started on designing with TinkerCad, taking Green Screen photos, and 3D printing.

As a complimentary gift, the Lab gave each member a 3D printed photo frame, in order for the WISE students to place their Green Screen photos in.

We look forward to seeing all of them again!

If you have an organization or club interested in visiting the lab, please contact us at: Sbu-InnovationLab@stonybrook.edu