An interactive course taught by a professor in a High School

Courses for High Schools

Challenge

In the past, having/driving a car was a luxury for the rich, but now it is an essential skill. Similarly, in the past, only programmers needed to write code, but now everything needs some form of computer program. The next generation's challenge is not that AI will replace humans, but how we can equip them with the skills to harness the power of computers, AI, and real intelligence to advance civilization.

Limitations

Driving stick-shift was once essential, but with the advent of automatic transmission and increased vehicle reliability, less people need to understand the internal mechanics of a car. Similarly, we now have car phones, radio, GPS, etc. that do much of the work for the driver. Similarly, we used to have specialists focus on challenges that were stepping stones for where we are. Now, we have humongous data, ever improving cloud resources, faster chips, better understanding of medicine and life sciences. It is not enough to keep learning disciplines like medicine, engineering, data science, etc in isolation. To take humanity to the next level, we need to harness the power of AI and all other technology to solve higher order problems.

Need

The next generation will need to transcend fields of specialization to be able to integrate biology, engineering, computers, AI, AR/VR, etc. Not only software programmers, but even medical doctors, teachers, plumbers, and farmers will need to learn how to program. And medical doctors, lawyers, and programmers of today will need to push the frontiers of science and engineering to integrate real and artificial intelligence. Maybe telepathy and teleportation are not far off after all.

Maybe, we can live on another planet (and save this one too) but we have to start to harness the technologies of the future today. So let’s start learning how to. And that is by equipping our kids with the skills to work with the future challenges.

Solution

Our ever improving course - Neuroengineering and Brain Computer Interface - blends the disciplines of Neuroscience, Tissue Engineering, Biochemistry and Computer Science to inspire our future heroes to learn the ropes to solve tomorrow's challenges!

Instructor

Dr. Johana Carolina M. Vega Leonel Ph.D.

Dr. Johana Vega grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. She earned her B.S. from Oglethorpe University and Georgia Institute of Technology in Biotechnology. She obtained her Phd in Neuroscience - NeuroEngineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she pursued her research interests in neural network formation and revascularization.

As a NSF and NSF-IGERT fellow she was able to develop an independent project and collaborate with 4 faculty members across 4 disciplines. After her graduate education, she joined Stanford University as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Neurosurgery Department where she worked on an interdisciplinary project with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories to study neural network formation on a chip.

Dr. Vega continues to pursue her research interests, collaborating with the faculty in Neurosurgery and Radiology departments. She enjoys teaching and has taught courses in anatomy and physiology. As a Teaching College Fellow, she has taught Our Genome (THINK68), Living with Viruses (THINK61), The Cancer Problem (THINK23), Why College? and Citizenship in the 21st Century.

Dr. Vega has taught on this topic at Stanford Online High School.

Course Synopsis

This course is an introduction to the world of Neuro Engineering. Students will examine the nervous system through an engineering lens to better understand repairing, regenerating and enhancing the
neurological system. Through readings, clinical studies, research, and new technology available in the field, students will study the formation of connections and the neural network formation
through chemical and electrical engineering models. Working in groups, students apply this information to develop and present ideas that aid the healing and regenerating processes of the nervous system.

Story

Susan is a Principal at Bright Minds High School. They want to offer enrichment classes to their students that would not only prepare them for college but also set them up to be successful in the careers of the next generation.

They have been reading about Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human-Computer Interaction and that a lot of the bleeding edge is at the intersection of multiple fields. One can't just study one subject or field in isolation.

In looking up courses online, they see that Astute Crew LLC has taught High School courses in the field of Neuroscience and Neuroengineering. This course is designed to help students place value on being multi-disciplinary in their education. Software Engineers will need to know fundamentals of medicine, Biochemistry majors will need to leverage AI and robotics and Doctors will need to know how to write code.

Beyond theory, this course also incorporates simulations and lab work.

Susan discusses the curriculum in detail, presents the course to the stakeholders and they decide to offer this course during the semester with a special certificate.