Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll (left) greeting Audrey Wang (ENG’26) at BU’s Robotics & Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center February 5.

Engineering

Massachusetts Tech Leaders Visit BU

Commonwealth’s STEM Advisory Council met with ENG’s Robotics & Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center and Innovate@BU students to learn about student robotics projects

Tech leaders from across the commonwealth had an opportunity to hear from Boston University students who are building a better wheelchair, a medication delivery robot, a drone system for wildlife conservation, and more when the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council met earlier this month at Boston University.

“Innovation happens because of this ecosystem,” said Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, cochair of the council, in opening remarks at BU’s Robotics & Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center (RASTIC). “And the great thing about the innovation economy is that you all collaborate way more than you compete,” Driscoll added, addressing an assemblage of technology executives, government officials, educators, and students from BU and other area colleges.

The Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council coordinates efforts to strengthen the state’s STEM-skilled workforce—professionals in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math. Council members include Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady (ENG’90), former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Pat Tutwiler, who recently stepped down from his position, US Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), and administrators from high schools, community colleges, and research universities across Massachusetts.

“We in this state recognize that science and innovation really matter, which is why we’re making investments in life sciences, in quantum and AI, in robotics, and advanced manufacturing—and that means partnerships between quasi-public agencies, venture capital, industry, and higher ed,” Driscoll said. “And we’re willing to acknowledge that none of us is as smart as all of us.” 

Before beginning their regular meeting, council members toured RASTIC, the 2,000-square-foot facility that supports hands-on student work across robotics disciplines. Like BU’s Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC) and Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center (BTEC), RASTIC has the kinds of hardware and software students will need to gain experience with as they seek internships and jobs.

“We’ve done all that intentionally in partnership with industry,” Kenneth Lutchen, BU vice president and associate provost for research and College of Engineering dean emeritus, said in his opening remarks. “To help us figure out what should be in these facilities, what tools we should put into students’ hands, what skills they should learn to be ready for the workforce,” Lutchen added. “If we want to get this right, we’ve got to work together, now more than ever.”

As council members circulated throughout RASTIC, teams of students presented products they were working on—as varied as a pill-delivering robot to aid nurses in busy hospitals and electronic buoys for remote-controlled sailboat race courses. One team is building a novel drone delivery system to help feed critically endangered red wolves and Mexican gray wolves living in a wildlife sanctuary in the Texas Hill Country.

In the same building, just a few steps from RASTIC, council members also visited Innovate@BU, BU’s student start-up hub, where computer engineering major Arav Tyagi (ENG’27) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute robotics technology student Antonio Marzoratti demonstrated an affordable adapter designed to convert any manual wheelchair into an electric one. The two, who cofounded their own start-up, Technotonin, have worked on the Portable Affordable Wheelchair Enhancer (PAWE) for five years, since they were in high school in Franklin, Mass.

While Massachusetts still has plenty of work to do to close the gaps in education, Driscoll said during the early February event, the state is well positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“We’ve got the most college-educated adults in the country, per capita,” Driscoll said. “Frankly, our economy isn’t tied to oil or gas bubbling up from the ground. We’re not mining for precious metals. What makes this a great state is the talent we have. 

“You’ve got a hard problem? This is the place to go to get it solved.”