Summer 2021 Taft Bulletin

Page 18

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THE POND BY DEBRA MEYERS For more information, visit www.taftschool.org/news

Muffin Prakittiphoom ’21 Connecting Engineering, Medicine, and Entrepreneurship “I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED interdisciplin-

ary topics that connect multiple subjects, mimicking the interconnected nature of our society,” says Muffin Prakittiphoom ’21. It seemed natural, then, that Muffin’s Independent Tutorial (IT) should reflect that passion for connection: Muffin has developed a prosthetic arm—connecting, she says, engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship. While looking for ways to apply her skills and interest in robotics to service-type initiatives, Muffin came across the story of a 16

Taft Bulletin / SUMMER 2021

teen who had built an arm out of Legos. “I was immediately fascinated by the idea of designing and building prosthetics,” says Muffin who, after experimenting with things like Legos, pipes, and wooden pallets, soon had a rough design for a prosthetic arm. That design, coupled with her strong academic background in STEM at Taft, helped Muffin secure internships, first in the prosthetics and orthotics department at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, then at the Sirindhorn School

of Prosthetics and Orthotics, the largest prosthetic provider in Thailand. “I was introduced to ‘professional’ prosthetics at Police General Hospital. I applied the theory I learned in the field to my design and implemented existing control techniques,” Muffin explains. “The following summer, I interned at the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, where I shadowed surgeons, prosthetists, and technicians throughout the prosthetics development process. At the same time, I was also able


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