The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Metal Casting Competition on Camera, with Robert Monroe Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

Robert Monroe talks about the Cast in Steel college metal casting competition, now viewable in a digital show following student teams’ stories.

Related to this episode:

Cast in Steel on Episode 1 premiere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9nrlzGLOmk
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CastinSteel
TV show page: https://www.castinsteel.net/tv-show
Steel Founders’ Society of America: https://www.sfsa.org/
Casting Dreams: https://castingdreams.org/

Subscribe and find podcast updates at: https://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Music by FlavioConcini under a Creative Commons 0 License.

Soft and Squishy Robots in the Classroom, with Dr. Holly Golecki Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

Modern robotics can interact with the human body in newer, innovative ways, using flexible materials and compliant actuators. Dr. Holly Golecki, Ph.D., wants to teach young people all about it, recently sharing her team’s K-12 curriculum in soft robotics in The Science Teachermagazine. A professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Golecki teaches bioengineering and engineering design to undergraduates, while also research applications of materials engineering to bioengineering and engineering education. She discusses her pathway to her current focus on engineering education, and her ideas about increasing the diversity of students who can access engineering at younger ages by way of soft robotics.

Related to this episode:

Dr. Holly Golecki’s website: https://www.hollygolecki.com/
Revolutionizing Robotics: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19434871.2023.12290283
Soft Robotics Toolkit: https://softroboticstoolkit.com/
UIUC BioE: https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/
Drexel Materials Science and Engineering: https://drexel.edu/engineering/academics/departments/materials-science-engineering/
Sandia National Labs: https://www.sandia.gov/
VEX Robotics competitions: https://www.vexrobotics.com/competition
McKibben artificial muscles: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/803170
Control Pneumatic Cylinder with Arduino (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXNNjtK5hp8
Tim the Nitinol Lepidopterist (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyVGpRjG5-0
Mark Rober on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg
hgolecki on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/hgolecki
Soft Robotics Toolkit Competition: https://softroboticstoolkit.com/competition/requirements

Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Music by seth_makes_sounds under a Creative Commons 0 License.

Engineering Meat Cruelty-Free, with Dr. Katie Kam Feb 12, 2023

Show notes

Cultivated meat has the potential to disrupt the meat industry, and engineer Dr. Katie Kam joins the podcast to talk about it. Katie founded BioBQ, her startup that’s developing cultivated beef brisket. She explains how cultivated meat – also known as “cultured meat” or “lab meat” – is real meat that avoids animal slaughter by being grown in a bioreactor. Katie discusses her motivation for her work at BioBQ, including her Texas roots, love of barbecue, interest in ecology, and being vegan. She also highlights partnerships with the cattle industry, investors, and many different fields in science and engineering.

Related to this episode:

• BioBQ: https://www.biobqing.com/

• “Cultivated meat bioprocess design” article: https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/deep-dive-cultivated-meat-bioprocess-design/

• “Eat Just to Open Asia’s Largest Cultivated Meat Facility in 2023”: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-10/eat-just-to-open-asia-s-largest-cultivated-meat-facility-in-2023

• “Upside’s cell-cultured chicken is first to receive FDA blessing for its production method”: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/16/upside-foods-cell-cultured-meat-fda/

• Good Food Institute (GFI): https://gfi.org/

• New Harvest: https://new-harvest.org/

• IndieBio incubator in San Francisco: https://indiebio.co/

Music by timouse under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Solve Real Problems and Win Real Prizes, with Autumn and George Dowdy and Ann Woo Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

The Solve for Tomorrow design competition from Samsung is starting up again, and three guests join the podcast to explain how it works, and why schools and businesses should invest in K-12 STEM education. George Dowdy led his students at Porter High School to win the most recent competition, while Autumn Dowdy led her students at the same school to win before that. George and Autumn, an engineering education power couple, talk about what it’s like teaching engineering today and how the Solve for Tomorrow competition complements their existing curriculum. Ann Woo is the Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung in the US, and she explains why Samsung funds or support the K-12 education pipeline with professional development and other programs like this.

Related to this episode:

• Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition: https://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/

• Porter High team wins national STEM competition for second year: https://www.yourconroenews.com/neighborhood/moco/news/article/Porter-High-team-wins-national-STEM-competition-17192932.php

• Project Lead The Way: https://www.pltw.org/

• MindSpark Learning: https://www.mindspark.org/

• Porter High School Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/porterhs_spartans/?hl=en

Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Teaching Coding to the Community with a Small Business, with Amy Pirzada Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

Amy Pirzada started My Coding Place as an educational business focused on teaching coding to kids in Austin. But she soon expanded to teach chess, game design, 3D modeling, 3D printing, and more technical topics in problem-solving to wider audiences. She talks about the mission of her entrepreneurial business, how to teach kids programming effectively, the right tech tools for teaching kids of different ages, and her goals for the business and possibly a future nonprofit.

Related to this episode:

• My Coding Place: https://www.mycodingplace.com/

• Gamemaker: https://gamemaker.io/

• Blender: https://www.blender.org/

• mBot by Makeblock: https://www.makeblock.com/steam-kits/mbot

• Hansol Hong of Robolink, on a past episode: https://www.k12engineering.net/episodes/74

• Roblox: https://www.roblox.com/

• Lua: https://www.lua.org/

• Girlstart nonprofit, on a past episode: https://k12engineering.net/episodes/21

The Physics Circus Teaches Science, with Joseph Ziegel Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

The Physics Circus at The University of Texas at Austin tries to attract kids to science using loud and entertaining demonstrations that might not be as accessible to the average school. Led by graduate students doing the latest in physics research, The Physics Circus is getting back into live shows again. Joseph Ziegel is one of the coordinators of the group, along with Jordan Zesch, and Joseph describes their mission of young scientists spreading more love of science. Related to this episode: • The Physics Circus at The University of Texas at Austin: https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~circus/ • Should a Person Touch 200,000 Volts? A Van de Graaff generator experiment! From the Jefferson lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZuSZYVBng • How To Make Pickles Glow, from TKOR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFefJyQhw0c • The Physics Circus YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSPOGbgbw7D4ogjV5_UpFxA Opening music by LogicMoon: https://freesound.org/people/LogicMoon/sounds/617295/ Closing music by JetSmith88: https://freesound.org/people/JetSmith88/sounds/206065/ Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

The Science Journal for Kids, with Tanya Dimitrova Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

Do scientific research articles sometimes sound like another language? To K-12 students, very often it’s yes. Tanya Dimitrova tried to help solve this problem by founding the Scientific Journal for Kids, where her team of writers, designers, and teachers translates articles from scientific research journals into more kid-friendly language. Tanya talks about how her time as a science teacher in Central Texas influenced her to found this nonprofit, and then explains all the details that go into collaborating with scientists to make their work more accessible. Related to this episode: • Science Journal for Kids (SJFK): https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/ • SJFK article relating to osmosis and energy: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-we-turn-ocean-water-into-renewable-energy/ • Tumble Podcast: https://www.sciencepodcastforkids.com/ • Past episode with Marshall Escamilla: https://k12engineering.net/episodes/59 • Sarah Galvani-Townsend: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/meet-a-scientist-sarah-galvani-townsend/ • Past guest Xiaojing Gao: https://www.k12engineering.net/episodes/113 • SJFK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceJournalforKids • r/explainlikeimfive: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/ • CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ • Dr. Shannon Currie: https://www.shannoncurrie.org/ Opening music by LogicMoon: https://freesound.org/people/LogicMoon/sounds/617295/ Closing music by JetSmith88: https://freesound.org/people/JetSmith88/sounds/206065/ Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Design Biomolecular Circuits, with Dr. Xiaojing Gao Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

What is synthetic biology? Researcher and professor Dr. Xiaojing Gao introduces this cutting edge field. He explains how his lab at Stanford University engineers biomolecular circuits, which are meant to be programmable, reproducible, and friendlier to mammalian cells than non-biological molecules. Xiaojing hopes to create the building blocks of this technology, to one day better treat all sorts of medical conditions ranging from cancer to epilepsy. He also describes his path to his interdisciplinary career. Related to this episode: • Dr. Xiaojing Gao: https://cheme.stanford.edu/person/xiaojing-gao • Gao Lab at Stanford: https://gaolab.blog/ • CAR T Therapy for cancer: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/car-t-cell-therapy • Targeted Therapy for cancer: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/targeted-therapies • biological logic gates: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-cells-protein-logic-gates.html • Brain & Behavior Foundation: https://www.bbrfoundation.org/ • Cell Reprogramming With CRISPR/Cas9 Based Transcriptional Regulation Systems: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00882/full • Physics Olympiad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Physics_Olympiad • Michael Elowitz: https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/michael-b-elowitz • Liqun Luo: https://profiles.stanford.edu/liqun-luo • Can we write biological “software updates” to cure disease?: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/can-we-write-biological-software-updates-to-cure-disease/ • Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) https://science.osti.gov/wdts Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

A Video Game for Designing Robots, with Dan White Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

Learning in robotics doesn’t have to take weeks, if you can design, build, and test a robot in hours in a video game. Dan White, CEO of Filament Games, introduces RoboCo, their game meant to teach principles of robotics to players, from the mechanical design all the way to testing in the 3D world. Dan discusses cofounding Filament Games with partners Dan Norton and Alex Stone, what constitutes a good or bad learning game, plans for integrating RoboCo into educational curricula, and more. Related to this episode: • Filament Games: https://www.filamentgames.com/ • RoboCo: https://www.roboco.co/ • Meaningful Gaming in Education, PAX presentation from Ashley Brandin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1pkwi7X8w • iCivics: https://www.icivics.org/ • Roblox: https://www.roblox.com/ • Besiege: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besiege_(video_game) • Space Engineers: https://www.spaceengineersgame.com/ • Minecraft Edu: https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/homepage • ‘RoboCo’ Looks to Fuel Interest in STEM by Letting You Build Useful (and Crappy) Robots: https://www.roadtovr.com/roboco-looks-fuel-interest-stem-letting-build-useful-crappy-robots/ • FIRST Robotics: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc • Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/ • Civilization: https://civilization.com/ • Micro, by Michael Creighton and Richard Preston: https://www.michaelcrichton.com/micro/ Subscribe and find podcast updates at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Reach Youth by Listening to Them, with Scott Steward Sep 12, 2021

Show notes

Chicago educator and entrepreneur Scott Steward breaks down his teaching philosophy, rooted in getting to know his students. Steward founded Genius Lab in Chicago, where he teaches young people technology, business, and how to become an adult. He honed his curriculum from teaching in Chicago Public Schools classrooms for fifteen years in largely black and brown communities. First Steward traces his youth on the South Side of Chicago, when he did not prioritize academics at all, and then he explains the turning points that took him through the corporate world and eventually to teaching youth who grew up much like himself. Related to this episode: • Scott Steward: https://scottsteward.com/ • Genius Lab: https://www.geniuslabchicago.com/ • 666 new Texas laws go into effect Sept. 1: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/new-texas-laws-september-2021/ • Derrion Albert: The Death that Riled the Nation: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/derrion-albert-the-death-that-riled-the-nation/ • Million Man March: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March • Guillain-Barré syndrome: https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/guillain-barre.html • NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship): https://www.nfte.com/ • Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep: https://brookscollegeprep.org/ • SEL (social-emotional learning): https://www.nu.edu/resources/social-emotional-learning-sel-why-it-matters-for-educators/ • Chase the Lion, by Mark Batterson: https://www.markbatterson.com/books/chase-the-lion/ • 31 Ways to Improve Your Life, by Scott Steward: https://scottsteward.com/merch/stewisms • Scott Steward on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealprofessorstew • The 2019 Chicago teachers strike: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2019/10/15/20915723/chicago-teacher-strike-2019-cps-ctu Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll also be supporting projects like the Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games, The Calculator Gator, or Chordinates! Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

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