This summer, Dr. James McLurkin has been leading Rainier Scholars’ Mini College engineering class at the University of Washington Tacoma campus. Armed with degrees from UC Berkeley and MIT, his career includes three decades of robotics and engineering roles, including nearly eight years as a senior hardware engineer at Google. But despite those lofty credentials, Dr. McLurkin is passionate about infusing engineering education with fun and nurturing the field’s next generation. “I always had an eye towards ‘building’ more engineers. At Google, I really started trying to figure out how to do more outreach,” he recalls.
However, having never worked with middle school students directly, Dr. McLurkin was initially hesitant when invited to teach Rainier Scholars’ Mini College. “I think I maybe said no twice. But ultimately, I said yes, and I’m glad I did. It’s been a real treat working with students who are right at the age when they’re making choices about what they want to do, what their horizon can contain, what is possible,” he explains. “Having them see engineering processes and talk with real engineers and do an actual design — this is now in the realm of the possible for them. Some will learn that they don’t like it at all, which is a fantastic lesson to learn in 7th grade. But others are really quite good at it and know they can do it, and that’s a very big deal.”
With lots of advice from his wife, a 6th grade science teacher, Dr. McLurkin has embraced the challenge of finding a sweet spot between what foundation to provide students and where to let them explore and learn independently. The goal of the course was to design and build a digital clock that runs on circuit boards Dr. McLurkin prepared. The process started with ideation and sketches before proceeding to mockups made of cardboard and tape. Next, scholars used the professional-grade Onshape CAD software to create precise designs, just like a mechanical engineer would provide to a machine shop.
Thanks to rapid prototyping techniques, including 3D printing and laser cutting, scholars received initial mockups of their designs quickly and began the integral process of fixing mistakes, or engineering change orders (ECOs). “We do a share out at the end of every class so that the whole class can see what they’re doing, offer commentary, and point out mistakes. Engineers are never happier than when other engineers point out their mistakes because then you can fix them,” he explains. “Failure is not a word that we talk about. We talk about mistakes. You find them, fix them, and go on to the next mistake. It feels like I should quote Yoda here. ‘No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.’”
The scholars participating in the engineering track of Mini College also learned that having fun and embracing the entertaining side of engineering is essential. As scholars complete the process of fixing any design mistakes in their clocks, they’re invited to the “fun room,” where they might enjoy something as serious as a Nova documentary or as seemingly light as “Iron Man.” “‘Iron Man’ is actually a great engineering movie because it perfectly explains the power of three,” he says. “You’ve got to build an initial prototype that just barely works. Then, you have to build a second prototype that’s almost working but usually has a fatal flaw. Finally, the third time you do a design, it’s going to come out right.”
What does Dr. McLurkin hope scholars will take away from their Mini College experience? “I hope that just the act of working with each other, learning engineering concepts, doing it and walking away with a clock they built almost all by themselves — I hope it all means they don’t even question their ability to do the next thing. I hope they believe that ‘I did this hard thing before, and I can do this hard thing now. Because why wouldn’t I be able to do hard things?’”
Looking at the program as a whole, Dr. McLurkin remarks, “I’m very impressed with Rainier Scholars and all the different places it intersects with students’ lives to change the trajectory of their futures. It’s impressive, and it’s a privilege to be a part of the effort.”