Making ideas at scientific fabrication laboratories

Abstract

Creativity, together with the making of ideas into fruition, is essential for progress. Today the evolution from an idea to its application can be facilitated by the implementation of Fabrication Laboratories, or FabLabs, having affordable digital tools for prototyping. FabLabs aiming at scientific research and invention are now starting to be established inside Universities and Research Centers. We review the setting up of the ICTP Scientific FabLab in Trieste, Italy, give concrete examples on the use in physics, and propose to replicate world-wide this class of multi-purpose workplaces within academia as a support for physics and math education and for community development.Keywords: Science, Technology & Society; 3D Printing; Physics Education; Sustainable Development OverviewCreativity and the conception of new thoughts, together with the action of bringing these ideas to reality, is essential for human growth and development. It is an ability that we all have and that we can cultivate with practice [1]. Furthermore, "Scientific thought, and its creation, is the common and shared heritage of mankind" -as quoted by Prof. A Salam, during the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics' ceremony [2]. Creative thinking needs to be nurtured and encouraged at all ages. The evolution from a creative expression to innovative applications for the benefit of the society, can today be facilitated by the implementation of small-scale Fabrication Laboratories, or FabLabs, offering (say, a more personal) digital fabrication facilities.Learning happens in an authentic, engaging, personal context in which one goes through a cycle of imagination, design, prototyping, reflection, and iteration as one finds solutions to challenges or bring ideas to life. FabLabs, having affordable digital tools for prototyping [3][4][5], should start to be established also at Universities and Research Centers. There are two main reasons to encourage these novel initiatives. One is the fact that most of the logistics needed for FabLabs are already present in these places -like safety control and policies, adequate space and facilities, skilled personnel and financial support to run the structure and make the usage as free and open as possible. The second reason is the aim to foster the interaction between academics, students and the society -as an extra, and rich source for the input of new ideas to be developed together with professionals, playing the role of a more enriched FabLab environment for the benefit of all.We briefly review here our experiences with the first year of activities within the Scientific Fabrication Laboratory (SciFabLab) of the ICTP in Trieste, Italy. We propose to replicate this class of multipurpose workplace at Universities and Research Centers in developing countries -which is today feasible because of the unprecedented technological developments and the affordable costs involved. We discuss how SciFabLabs can be a open place to learn, and get notions of science, beyond the traditional classrooms and without limits.

Moineau-based pumps for the volumetric extrusion of pellets

“…Work along these lines is still in progress in our SciFabLab [11], with the final goal to share this knowledge and collaborate across international borders in the fields of science, education and sustainable growth using open tecnologies as the one at hand.…”

Science and Inclusion

“…Academic STEM activities of interest are mostly developed around FabLabs inserted in a scientific framework. SciFabLabs open new dimensions to science and education specially in developing countries (see, e.g., [8]), and are strongly rooted locally by catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship also with the help of its faculty and students.…”

“…A new dimension for science dissemination is provided with the use of 3D printers within SciFabLabs to produce complex mathematical objects such as the IMAGINARY Open Mathematics Exhibition [8]. The shape of such objects is otherwise difficult to visualize through books or perspective drawings.…”

“…Unfortunately, disabilityrelated research has not been undertaken extensively. Because of these barriers to education there are only few people with disabilities with research skills [7,8]. As reported in [9], people with a disability are 19.9% less likely to work in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) than those without disability.…”

Open social innovation dynamics and impact: exploratory study of a fab lab network

“…They have similar equipment and generally function in the same manner (which is why the words ‘makerspace’ and ‘fab lab’ are often used interchangeably). The only formal difference between a fab lab and a makerspace is that the former has signed the Fab Lab Foundation Charter, while the latter has not (Fonda and Canessa, ). Fab labs are more likely to be situated within an educational institution, such as a university or a college (van Holm, ), and usually have stronger connections with each other (Menichinelli, ).…”