Garrett Griffin
The STEM section of Texas A&M Texarkana resides in the building on the left.
The largest growing sector in industry and jobs continues to be in the areas of science and engineering. As a result of foresight and good planning, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics -STEM- College has been an integral part of Texas A&M University at Texarkana since .
Developing connections with external organizations and industries, the university has developed partnerships that could result in grants and research opportunities at the university in the future.
One of the newest additions to the university has been Dr. Donald Peterson, the Dean of the STEM College at Texas A&M University at Texarkana. Since Dr. Peterson has had many different experiences and connections with industries developed over his many years as a distinguished professor and researcher, Dr. Peterson has become a great asset to the university. Such connections have spawned partnerships such as the university’s relationship with NASA.
Dr. Donald Peterson – The Dean of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics College at Texas A&M University – Texarkana. Image Courtesy of Texas A&M University – Texarkana
Dr. Peterson’s connections with NASA include his work on the Mach 5 spacesuit that was in development for future missions to Mars. His work made use of his background in biomedical engineering to develop better mobility in the arm joint-connections on the space suit, which until then had remained one of the most restricting aspects of a spacesuit.
Although the plans for a mission to Mars that required the research into the suit were dumped due to a reassignment of funding and cuts to government monies, the experience Dr. Peterson received have been valuable to the university and its interests in growing connections with external entities.
In addition to that, he also helped develop tools used in space by researching and engineering them with a focus on improving the ergonomics of the implements.
The University has started a partnership with NASA. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Dr. Peterson has had many years experience in the field of biomedical engineering, a field of engineering not too familiar to students attending college in the local area. This is something that he hopes to change in the future. When asked about why he, Dr. Peterson, came to this university after many years of work in the Northeast, he had one thing to say: “Potential.”
The way Dr. Peterson sees it, the area of northeast Texas is prime for the development of medical research facilities and other biomedical and medical-related industries. This is due in part to its proximity to other hotspots of similar activity and a lack of other competing industries. It also helps that the potential exists for numerous interstates being developed in the area.
Looking to the future, and at the bigger picture, Dr. Peterson sees the potential for the university if it were to expand its areas of studies in the medical and biomedical fields. He expresses the hope for this expansion but has not set it as a goal because of the size of the prospect.
In his own experience, Dr. Peterson has seen the potential that a person who has knowledge in both engineering and medical science offers to the workplace since many industries put great importance on people with that specific skill set. Dr. Peterson sees the future being in multi-disciplinary students who have superior abilities to innovate and solve problems across science, not just in one specific area. He said it himself, “it’s the wave of the future.”
Inside the STEM Innovations Lab at Texas A&M University – Texarkana.
Image Courtesy of the Texarkana Gazette.
One way by which Dr. Peterson has aided in this evolutionary process of curricula is by adding the STEM Innovations Lab. This cross-disciplinary establishment fosters innovation. The lab is open to anyone, from people who want to enrich their studies and college experience to those who just want to have fun building and creating things.
The lab recently acquired two plastic 3-D printers through a grant that are able to print parts on demand from online databases or from files designed and engineered by students or professors.
There are also prototyping facilities for electrical engineers including bread-boards and computer-based sensing technologies. The computer interfaces for the electrical prototyping also leads into opportunities for computer science majors and their code-writing skills.
Another section of the lab is devoted to biomedical engineering research into the ergonomics of surgical instrumentation and tools. By utilizing a Microsoft Xbox Kinect, along with special software, the shape of a surgeon’s hands can be converted into a three-dimensional file which is analyzed to produce adapters for tools to provide a better fit for their hand.
The many aspects of the STEM College and its contributions the university are an under-appreciated section of the university. By increasing the program’s visibility, Dr. Peterson hopes to make the University, and STEM sections in particular, more appealing to both the public and prospective students. By focusing on STEM, the university is making an investment in not just the University, but the area of greater Texarkana. What the future holds for the Texarkana area and its locations of higher learning, who knows?