Featured Industry Problems

Summer 2020

We believe learning how to apply knowledge is just as important as learning it. Each of these technical industry problems will cover not only how to apply the specific concepts taught in lecture, but also the personal backstory behind the person solving the problem, because it's important that you see someone who looks like you, talks like you, or shares your passions doing what you'd like to do in life.
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Diversity in Hiring Practices

Kafi Payne, PhD | Director of Human Resources

Set a diversity target for a recruitment candidate pool given employment trends for women in STEM. Dr. Kafi Payne also discusses her journey from immigrating to the US as a young girl to starting 2 businesses, receiving a PhD from UC Berkeley, and becoming Director of Human Resources at a San Francisco tech company.

Ultrasonic Tissue Regeneration

Devante Horne, PhD | Sr. Research Engineer

Determine whether a specific ultrasonic tissue regeneration technique increases mechanical toughness in spine tissue. Follow Devante's journey from growing up in a single-parent household on the East Coast to receiving a joint PhD from both UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley.

Hip Velocity for Wearable Robotic Exoskeletons

Nate Poon, PhD | Founder & Engineer

Use open-source point-tracking software to calculate the peak rotational velocity at a persons hip when walking. Nate talks about how he struggled with self-doubt in high school, and pushed himself into unfamiliar territory starting a school, building a robotic exoskeleton sold across the world, and graduating UC Berkeley with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

Modeling the Spread of COVID-19

Kayla Toy | Founder @ USF Math Club

Determine when the rate of new COVID-19 infections begins to level off. Meet Kayla, and hear about how she turned a demoralizing failure in math into a subject that now defines her career at University of San Francisco.

Designing to Meet Building Code

Kristen Young, M.Arch | Architect

Determine the window dimensions for a room with a curved wall in a multi-family apartment complex. Kristen talks about her journey moving from Hawaii to the US mainland, and pursuing a master's degree at UCLA in Architecture - a largely white, male-dominated industry.

Biomechanical Effects of Spaceflight

Britta Berg-Johansen, PhD | Manager, Biomedical Engineering

Determine how spaceflight affects the spine mechanics of the intervertebral disc. Britta talks about her experience growing up as a woman pursuing bioengineering, and her relentless pursuit of an engineering career.

Nanotechnology & Drug Delivery

Yiqi Cao, PhD | Life Sciences Associate

Analyze the diffusion of a drug from an implantable ocular device (eye implant) into localized tissue. Yiqi discusses her drive to try a variety of different fields, and how not knowing what you want to do can lead to significant opportunities down the road.

Stem Cell Growth

Mohamed Habib, PhD | Associate Specialist, Orthopaedic Surgery

Model STEM cell growth using fundamental calculus principles. Mohamed also describes his journey as an immigrant from Egypt, overcoming challenges to pursue engineering and medicine in both the US and Canada.