Centuries-old technology could help solve one of STEM’s toughest challenges

Humanity has achieved remarkable feats– cars that drive themselves, wind-powered electricity and a spacecraft that has ventured beyond the solar system. Yet, unlocking every child’s full potential in STEM remains a challenge.

Two women from Clemson University are trying a fresh approach that sharpens the focus on a technology that has been around for centuries: books.

Ana C. Alba-Rubio, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has assembled a coloring book featuring nine female Clemson engineers and scientists. Serita Acker has drawn on her experience as executive director of PEER & WISE to write two books that describe in simple terms what engineers and scientists do.

The three children’s books are among the more unique ways the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences reaches far beyond campus to inspire the next generation of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.

For years, faculty, students and staff have led campaigns across the state to introduce STEM principles to K-12 children with activities that range from immersing them in virtual reality worlds to programming robots. The books give students something tangible to hold and keep, helping deepen the impression that STEM is for everyone.

“We live in a world where STEM is something we really need to do,” Acker said. “We want to be on the cutting-edge of technology, and we want the best products. Things are so ever-changing that we need everyone at the table who has an interest in this.”

Alba-Rubio created her book as part of a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation that also funded research into capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks and converting it to methanol, which can be used to produce electricity. She titled the book, “Color the Scientists: Women in STEM in Upstate South Carolina.”

The idea sprang from her passion for supporting women in STEM and her memories of a chemistry book that had been in her grandparents’ home when she was a child.

The pencil marks Alba-Rubio made next to a sketch of an atom remain in the margins. When it came time for her to develop a K-12 outreach activity for her CAREER Award, the illustrations in the book and her marks came to mind.

“I said, I need to do something that kids can be excited about,” she said. “Even if they don’t fully know what it is, it could guide them in the future, so that’s why I decided to do a coloring book.”

Alba-Rubio worked with Pooja Kumar, a visual designer who has a chemical engineering background, to develop the illustrations and captions. Most of the faculty members featured in the book have committed to visiting at least one school, where they will hand out the books for free, along with crayons reflecting a wide range of skin tones.

The book can be downloaded for free here.

Faculty featured in the book are Alba-Rubio, Julia Brumaghim, Jessica Larsen, Leah Casabianca, Shunyu Liu, Marian Kennedy, Sruthi Narayanan, Keisha Cook, Samantha Price, Melissa Smith and Kelly Lazar.

Acker said she decided to write her two children’s books because she found in her off-campus outreach work that few people knew about engineering and those who did had trouble explaining it to children.

“We’re telling students about the field, but what do you do with that?” she said. “Students ask, ‘What does that mean? What do I have to take? What would my life be like?’ For me, it’s just trying to answer those questions.”

Acker’s first book was “Math, Science & Engineering: It’s a Girl Thing,” and then she broadened it to “Math, Science & Engineering: It’s for Everyone!”

Both books describe in simple terms what a wide variety of engineers and scientists do, alongside colorful illustrations by Amina Yaqoob, and suggest further resources to explore STEM more deeply.

The books are geared toward students from 5th grade through middle school, and Acker has also distributed a few to those in high school. She aimed the book at middle school because it is the entry to high school, when students will need to start taking foundational courses, such as algebra, trigonometry and pre-calculus, Acker said.

The books, she said, can help put them on the right pathway.