Sherwin Xia

Mentored by: Ingmar Riedel-Kruse (Bioengineering) 
14-15 SURPS presenter

Considering how much influence the computer and internet has on people’s lives today, how much of an impact will biotechnology have on our everyday lives in the future?

This is a question that Sherwin Xia asked himself. His excitement and curiosity inspired him to seek the support of a UAR grant for a project that integrated gaming with biotechnology. Creative problem-solving at every step of this project, like drastically lowering the cost of the game kit by switching to double sided tape, led to Sherwin’s innovative final solution: a low-cost, accessible biotic game kit that makes STEM and life sciences interesting and available to high-school students of varied backgrounds. Sherwin’s project shows the potential for and importance of more novel, unconventional approaches to STEM education.