Makerspace

The Makerspace at Columbia University is a workshop where Columbia students and affiliates can work on their engineering or artistic projects, receive training on tools and machines, learn new skills, collaborate, and meet new people. It is especially essential within Columbia's School of Engineering, with many students utilizing Makerspace's help and resources to bring their engineering projects to life.

I first became involved in the Makespace as a student-volunteer in March 2023, then started working as a part-time staff member in September 2023, and have been working there since. 

My responsibilities include performing maintenance and training users on the following tools:

  • FDM 3D-printers (Bambu Labs, Prusas, Ultimakers);

  • Ward Waterjet;

  • Thunder Lasercutter;

  • shop machines (bandsaws, drillpresses, etc.);

  • hand tools.

I also am responsible for setting up, running, and post-processing weekly batches of nylon SLS 3D-prints on Formlabs Fuse 1 Printer and Sifter and performing maintenance on the said machines.

My involvement in the Makerspace allowed me to give back to the Columbia community by contributing to resources that I was so happy to utilize in my early college career. It also helped me improve both my technical and my soft skills: training groups of users on how to safely and correctly utilize available tools and machines is a significant part of my responsibility, and I am no stranger to conducting a training for a group of people or helping a team resolve issues with their project.