North Carolina Central University News June 18, 2015 NCCU ‘Maker’ Team Presents at Capitol Hill Showcase Seven students from North Carolina Central University<http://nccu.edu/> traveled to Washington, D.C., Thursday, June 11, 2015, to present designs for new products being developed at the Fabrication Laboratory, also known as the Fab Lab, on NCCU’s campus. The students are part of the HBCU Making for Change Showcase at the Brayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. The event is in conjunction with the Capitol Hill Maker Faire and the National Maker Faire in Washington, D.C., June 12-13. Each student group was asked identify and attempt to solve a problem faced by their communities, then make a video presentation about the solution. Jackson’s team created a digital device to help people with visual impairments navigate the Durham Public Library. The other NCCU team devised a wearable geographic tracking band for personal safety. “It’s very exciting being involved in this and becoming part of the Maker Movement,” said Kendall Jackson, a junior physics major. “We were challenged to find a community problem that we could address, and we came up with this idea.” NCCU was one of 12 participating HBCUs at the Making for Change Showcase, which is co-sponsored by the United Negro College Fund, the Association for Public Land-grant Universities and the White House Initiative on HBCUs. The students received a starter kit of materials and worked with faculty members Dr. Eric Saliim, associate professor of biology, and Dr. Mohammad Ahmed, associate professor of physics, to complete their projects. Other students participating in the presentations were Sharif Thompson, Jarrett Weathersby, DaQuill Campbell, Nicholas Speaker, Nathalie Bravo Batista and Sarah Warren. The Capital Hill Maker Faire is hosted by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services in collaboration with the Congressional Maker Caucus, Maker Media, a San Francisco-based company, and the Nation of Makers, a White House initiative launched in 2014. The first White House Maker Faire took place in June 2014 after President Barack Obama issued a call to action to “lift up makers and builders and doers across the country.” The White House National Week of Making is June 12-18, 2015. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.