Sharing Intelligence

MTSU’s Makerspace and service groups join forces to make innovative use of technology

by Clay V. Trainum

It’s always a welcome sight to walk into MTSU’s Makerspace during one of the informational tours. The creative technology space in Walker Library is abuzz with energy, as Valerie Hackworth and her team have demos set up and ready to go as far as the eye can see.

On this day, the tour group is extra special: A cadre of service members from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell along the Tennessee-Kentucky border, and the 18th Airborne Corps in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has made its way to the library’s second floor.

"Sharing our experiences and providing customized events is part of my job,” Hackworth said. “How can we use the library’s Makerspace resources to help accomplish the goals of these individuals or groups? Oftentimes, you have to provide the chance to experience the space for them to discover what they can do with this sort of technology."

The interactions usually prove mutually beneficial because groups that visit the library to learn about Makerspace's technology often bring new ideas.

“With the 101st, I tried to prepare some things that may work with what I knew about their activities,” Hackworth said. “It turns into a very open idea-sharing environment, where everything is welcome and nothing is final. That’s one of the fun things about this space.

“Everything is always in flux, and while they’re standing here talking about how they can use virtual reality, I’m now thinking about new things that I can present to classes and faculty because the application for something like virtual reality is so broad. Every time a group comes in and says, ‘We can use it for this,’ I store that away or write it down, so I can try to think how that could be used for another faculty member on campus.”

This wasn’t the first time that the Makerspace has been a major part of the University’s commitment to those in uniform. The annual E-Tech Academy that features Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets from across the country has been a major part of the Makerspace’s summer programming, and it is set to continue once again this summer. CAP, the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, has a cadet program for ages 12–18.

During the Army contingent’s visit to campus last September, MTSU and the group announced a special five-year commitment to partner and encourage education, innovation, and research collaborations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and other disciplines.

“Innovation is a trademark of MTSU’s academic programs,” Provost Mark Byrnes said. “We take great pride in providing our students opportunities to gain hands-on experience and attain real-world knowledge.

“We are excited to collaborate with members of the 18th Airborne Corps and the 101st Airborne Division to advance these goals. The possible benefits and outcomes from this transfer of knowledge hold great potential for both our national security and academic communities.”

MTSU’s Makerspace provides students and faculty with access to robotics, electronics, laser etchers, virtual reality technology, 3D printing, and other resources for exploring, experimenting, and innovating.

In large part because of the Makerspace, MTSU was ranked by Newsweek magazine as among the Best Maker Schools in Higher Education internationally in 2021, alongside universities such as Brown, Princeton, Yale, UCLA, MIT, and Cambridge. The non-ranked list, compiled in partnership with the publisher of Make: magazine and books, highlights institutions with innovative programs that demonstrate the ingenuity and community engagement that are hallmarks of the maker movement.