Faris Kanan, Alexander Niejadlik, and Ameen Al Naseri grew up in very different locations.
Yet all three University of Miami students had an early penchant for tinkering.
Kanan grew up in Jordan, where he loved building Lego sets, and later discovered robotics in high school.
“That piqued my passion and got me interested in engineering,” he said.
Niejadlik, a self-proclaimed “grease monkey,” spent weekends in Massachusetts fixing cars and doing other building projects with his father and grandfather—both engineers.
And while Al Naseri planned to become a lawyer in his home state of Maryland, during high school he fell in love with “cadding,” or designing prototypes that he learned to 3D print. Now, he has set his sights on becoming an aerospace engineer.
These three engineering students are eager to find others who share their enthusiasm for crafting new, useful creations. That is why they are leading the UMaker club, which meets once or twice per month at the College of Engineering. Only about 8 years old, the organization is small but growing.
Its goal is simple: to help others learn to use tools like Arduino kits (or “the brain of the computer,” which tells it to do things), robots, 3D printers, and drones to create new, innovative solutions.
“If you want to start engineering things, we are the perfect place to start,” said Kanan, UMaker president and a sophomore studying electrical and computer engineering. “We are open to all skill levels, and we teach a lot of the foundational skills you use throughout engineering, and we also introduce you to software that may not be taught until junior or senior year.”
Niejadlik, a senior studying electrical and computer engineering, agreed, adding they aim to organize events at least twice a month but ideally would like to meet more often.
“We can get your foot in the door to start building things and give you the basics to build whatever you can think of,” he added. “We help take people from nothing to something.”
Al Naseri was inspired after attending a few meetings of UMaker last year and created his own 3D printed robotic arm.
So far this year, UMaker has hosted a few Maker Minutes workshops; visited West Miami Middle School to teach students about some Arduino kits and robotics; and recently hosted Alessandro Placitelli—better known as Placitech—a Miami-based social media influencer and maker with nearly half a million YouTube followers. During his presentation, Placitech explained how he graduated with an electrical engineering degree from Pennsylvania State University and began showcasing his homemade creations in college. His following grew enough that now “the maker life” is his full-time job.
“When you finally do it and it works, then you get what I would call the maker’s high, where you're like ‘Wow, this is incredible’ after months of building; something actually came alive,” he said. “Then you’re already thinking about how to use that knowledge to find the next thing.”
Students who attended Placitech’s session got a chance to learn more about some of his creations, including a light-up speaker to use as a doorbell when a homeowner is in the shower; a temperature sensor to check if someone is sick before entering the home; and a smartwatch to control the lights and appliances in his room. Many students who attended his talk were glued to the presentation.
“This opens your eyes about what you can do as an engineer to build anything that comes to mind,” said Umar Ahmed, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering.
Shaine Ghent, a first-year student in the College of Engineering, said she has fun at the Maker Minutes workshops and enjoyed seeing part of Placitech’s talk recently. She has also received guidance on courses to take from the club’s upper-class members.
“I want to get into automotive engineering or work as a yacht engineer,” said Ghent, who is also studying mechanical engineering. “I joined UMaker to pick up some extra skills in engineering, but even someone in computer science would like this too.”
Currently boasting about 200 members on Engage, UMaker is open to anyone at the University but often attracts those studying engineering. It is particularly helpful for junior or senior undergraduate engineering students working on their design projects, where they have to create a prototype.
Ricky Almada, a master’s candidate in biomedical engineering, attended a few meetings of UMaker with a friend last year. After earning an undergraduate degree in health science, UMaker helped him get up to speed on the software he needs for his engineering classes and then he kept showing up because it was fun.
“It’s helped me pick up a lot of the stuff I was missing like coding, 3D printing, and they offered a Maker Minutes with shortcuts on SolidWorks, which is a type of CAD software,” Almada said. “The coding helped me get ready for classes on medical devices, and I needed the MATLAB and Arduino knowledge. Beyond that, UMaker is just a nice group of people to help you pick up new skills.”
To learn more about UMaker or find the next workshop, follow them on Instagram @miamiumakers or join them on Engage.
