Oct 09, 2018 |
St. Bonaventure University will host an upcoming speaker who will share information about a growing global community of volunteers who produce free 3D printed prosthetic hands and arms.
Dr. Jonathan Schull, founder of E-Nable, will share the work of the organization during a presentation from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Dresser Auditorium of the Murphy Professional Building on campus. The program is free and open to the public.
Schull, a former researcher at the Rochester Institute of Technology, will be available to talk with local organizations interested in collaborating with E-Nable as well as those who may be a potential prosthetic recipient.
Founded in 2013, E-Nable was formed as an online community of volunteers who offered up their own 3D printers to help make hands for people who needed them. The community has now grown to include a matching process that connects a recipient to a maker willing to print and assemble a device for them and hundreds of organizations such as Scout troops that spend their free time to host large build workshops to create devices to ship to underserved populations around the world. E-Nable devices, which can be used for simple tasks, open and close using the flexing of the wrist or elbow to create tension to pull the fingers closed.
St. Bonaventure’s connection with E-Nable began last summer when biology professor Dr. Xiao-Ning Zhang invited a group of E-Nable volunteers to the 4th annual summer STEM workshop she organized for regional K-12 teachers.
“Dr. Schull’s presentation will bring a service learning opportunity for anyone,” Zhang said. “Students in all majors at the university, as well as the general public, can find a connection in E-Nable’s movement.”
E-Nable estimates that it has delivered about 1,800 hands, mostly to children. The devices are especially helpful for children who do not have the option of a traditional prosthetic device because of cost, time, or the uniqueness of the limb difference.
Schull’s presentation is sponsored by St. Bonaventure’s Visiting Scholar Committee.
To learn more about E-Nable, visit www.enablingthefuture.org.
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