A vision for the Maker Space
Cedric Walker, professor emeritus of biomedical engineering, is Maker-in-Chief of the interim Maker Space on the Tulane University uptown campus. Alumni and other supporters are working together to support the innovative project that has a great deal of momentum behind it, with almost $500,000 committed in just seven months. (Photo by Ryan Rivet)
What if you could build virtually any structure that you can imagine? Soon, Tulane University students will be able to create almost anything, thanks to the vision of alumni and faculty members.
Located in the former engineering machine shop, the Maker Space is a center for design, invention, innovation and fabrication. What was an antiquated machine shop is now a beacon of creativity and technological innovation, the first of its kind at Tulane. A 1,000-square-foot ideation gallery rises above 3,000 square feet of shop floor fitted with high-volume modern prototyping tools alongside traditional hand and power tools.
“You can turn original creative ideas into a reality that you can hold in your hand,” says biomedical engineering professor emeritus Cedric Walker. “And it can all be done safely without cutting tools that could harm a student.”
Along with senior professor of practice Timothy Schuler, Walker came up with the idea of transforming the 120-year-old shop into a Maker Space.
Walker"s enthusiasm and vision for the Maker Space made him an ideal candidate for the position of Maker-in-Chief. In that role he will help students from across the university have a safe place to experiment with their ideas.
“A student can come up with the idea, create it in 3-D with a computer, then make it with a 3-D printer or laser cutter,” says Walker. “You have that physical reality in your hands in just a few hours to evaluate if it was a good design or whether you need to change it.”
On Friday (Oct. 2) from 3-4:30 p.m., the interim Maker Space will hold an open house, with laser cutter and 3-D printer demonstrations. This event in the Engineering Complex, Room 125, is open to the Tulane community.
