Open-source Robotics for Academics: A Platform that Grows with the User
Carlotta Berry, Katie Collins, Alejandro Marcenido Larregola · 2024
Berry is a professor, author, researcher, mentor, role model, prolific speaker, and a STEM trailblazer.In her efforts to increase the number of women and historically marginalized and minoritized students earning degrees in computer science, computer, electrical, and software engineering at her university, she co-founded the Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity professional development, networking, and scholarship program in 2008.Since its inception, there have been approximately 40 graduates and the number of women at the university has increased to 25%.In 2020, to achieve her mission to diversify STEM by bringing robotics to people and bringing people to robotics, she launched her business, NoireSTEMinist educational consulting.She also co-founded Black In Engineering and Black In Robotics to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in STEM.Her innovative strategies to normalize seeing Black women in STEM including performing robot hip hop slam poetry, writing Black STEM Romance novels, conducting robotics workshops, creating open-source robots, sharing Black STEM digital AI art, and using social media to educate the world about engineering and robotics have proven to be groundbreaking and successful.One of her proudest accomplishments was receiving FIRST Robotics Competition volunteer of the year award for being a judge, judge advisor, and chair of regional and district planning committees for over a decade.This is second only to serving as co-leader of her daughter's Girl Scout troop and then mentoring those same girls on the Gamer Girlz FIRST Lego League and VEX robotics team.Through her innovative work in engineering education and STEM outreach, she has appeared in several print and digital media including Forbes, Black Enterprise, New York Times, and CBS News.She has also been recognized with several national awards including the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) fellow, ASEE Electrical and Computer Engineering Division Distinguished Engineering Educator, Grace Hopper Celebration Educational Innovation Abie Award, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Undergraduate Teaching Award, Indiana Business Journal Women of Influence, and Society of Women Engineers Distinguished Engineering Educator.