Student Spotlight

Tech changes lives. So does iDEW

Taniah Hamilton’s robotics project in her senior year gave her a glimpse of how to incorporate IoT into the creation of her team’s robot, Smiley. Smiley displayed messages of positivity and they planned to connect him through WiFi to deliver these stress-relieving messages to fellow students.

The Providence Cristo Rey student especially enjoyed the teamwork aspect of planning and building the robot. “Competition felt more like self-improvement. Everyone had their own ideas and their own goals.”

Taniah also appreciated the support of iDEW teachers and mentors and the opportunity to interact with industry. “Ever since sophomore year, they’ve been there, pushing me and keeping me focused,” she said. “The trip to the Tapia conference helped me see what careers were available to me, and how technology can help solve problems.”

Taniah enrolled in IUPUI to study informatics in fall 2018 and received a LiFT Scholarship. “Before the iDEW showcase, I knew I wanted something in engineering, but I didn’t know about computer science. When I saw how much people appreciated what we did, I thought, ‘I can do this’,” she said. She is interested in applying informatics to the field of neuroscience, developing prosthetics to help people do things they otherwise couldn’t.