Community Makers

Highlighting Minorities in the Field

The Makerspace thrives as a creative hub because of the culmination of experiences, backgrounds, and ingenuity of our community.

In an effort to display the innovation and represent the individuals within our Engineering network, we’ve begun gathering their stories, and working to promote them to further foster an inclusive culture. By sharing the journeys of diverse UW Madison students, staff, affiliates, and Madison residents within the engineering community, we aim to break down barriers, and open up a bigger conversation.

Community Makers will feature stories on our social media platforms; sharing current projects you are working on, personal goals, how you got to where you are, influences that have shaped you, and anything else you feel is important to share.We know that diversity and the pursuit of excellence in teaching & research are inextricably linked, and we hope you will consider taking part in this project to represent who UW Engineers are. If you would like to participate, or know anyone who has a story to tell, please see below (right) to submit an interest form. If you have any questions or concerns about the project, please reach out to us at maker-contact@engr.wisc.edu.

On Nov. 29, 2018, UW students from The Black Voice, an online publication produced by UW students of color, along with Karla Foster (pictured), assistant director of cultural programing, take part in a meeting with representatives from UW University Communications in a conference room in the Multicultural Student Center inside the Red Gym at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to discuss a multimedia project focused on the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Strike that took place on campus. (Photo by Bryce Richter /UW-Madison)

Known around the world as “Napalm Girl", survivor Kim Phúc, now 56, and guest Nick Ut, the Associated Press photographer who made the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1972 photo of then-nine-year-old Phúc following a Vietnam War fire bombing, share their stories with an overflow audience of hundreds during “Celebration of Peace and Mindfulness" at the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on June 8, 2019. The free talk, which took place 47 years to the day after the photo was taken, was co-sponsored by the UW-Madison Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and The Children’s Library International. The Children’s Library International is funding the visit as part of an effort to raise funds for a library it is constructing in Phúc’s name in her home province of Trảng Bàng. (Photo by Jeff Miller / UW-Madison)

Community Makers: Gaby Setyawan

By Mabel Malhotra In her first ever engineering course at UW–Madison, Gaby Setyawan (‘23) and her peers were presented with a challenge. The class, InterEgr 170, tasks students with building a stool that compresses organic …

Community Makers: Rebecca Alcock

This Community Makers interview is with Rebecca Alcock and discusses Imposter Syndrome, the importance of belonging, and how to create a more accessible environment in Engineering. Community Makers hopes to share the journeys of …