Amy B. Smith

Instructor, MIT Edgerton Center

Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering

Room 3-017, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone: 617-253-5985, Email:

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 1980-1984, 1990-2000
Cambridge, MA
  • S.M. in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Engineer's Degree, June 1995. Thesis: “Design of a Screenless Hammermill.”
  • S.B. in Mechanical Engineering, June 1984. Thesis: “The Effect of Hole Density on the Strength of Equine Metacarpi in Four-Point Bending.”

Courses include: Advanced Engineering Design, African Development, Alternate Energy Sources, Biomedical Fluid Mechanics, Design of Biomedical Devices, Designing Smart Machines, French Conversation and Composition, Health Technology, Heat Transfer, Industrial Design, Microeconomics, Product Design.

Peace Corps Training School / 1986
St. Paul's Mission, Molepolole, Botswana

Intensive training program in teaching techniques, Setswana language, and studies of the Southern African Region.

Experience

Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 1990-Present
Cambridge, MA
  • Instructor: Edgerton Center. Co-founder of the MIT Service Learning Initiative and the MIT IDEAS Competition, Founder and Program Coordinator for the Public Service Design Seminars, Creator and Instructor of SP.721 D-Lab I: Development and SP.722 D-Lab II: Design, SP.773 Health Technologies for the Developing World and SP.777 Water Jet Technology. Project team leader for the Fuel from the Fields alternative energy project.
  • Inventor: Developed the screenless hammermill for grinding grain in rural areas of developing countries, created the phase change incubator for laboratory field work in remote areas, designed and developed low-cost water testing and treatment equipment for use in D-Lab research trips.
  • Senior Lecturer: Mechanical Engineering. Instructor, 2.722, Recitation instructor for 2.001—Mechanics and Materials and co-instructor for 2.72—Machine Elements.
  • Curriculum Development: SP.746 African Technology Forum Writing Seminar. Developed the curriculum and taught a course in which students produce an issue of a magazine in order to improve their writing skills. SP.753 Designs for Developing Countries. Developed the curriculum and taught an innovative, hands-on design seminar for undergraduates.
  • Teaching Assistant: 2.01—The Mechanics of Solids. Taught recitation sections of up to 32 students and was responsible for administration of the course; developed a manual for the computer-aided structural analysis program; participated in the NSF program to integrate design into the introductory mechanical engineering courses.
  • Teaching Assistant: 2.72/2.721—Elements of Mechanical Design/Design for Production. Supervised student design groups and was responsible for the administration of the course; developed teaching manuals for AutoCAD.
  • Research Assistant: Worked on the design of a low-technology system for producing vaccines in developing countries.

United States Peace Corps / 1986-1990
Botswana
  • Regional Beekeeping Officer. Trained farmers, women's groups and school groups in basic apiculture including building hives, capturing wild colonies of bees and basic hive management.
  • Secondary School Teacher. Taught mathematics, English and science at the middle school level; supervised the beekeeping, business, math and science clubs; coached the boys and girls volleyball teams.

Meditech Inc. / 1984-1985
Watertown, MA
  • Research and Development engineer. Developed a siliconized coating for improved motion of catheter guidewires; helped develop a new manufacturing technique for producing cranial catheters.

Publications

Smith, A. (2007) Fuel from the Fields. Cooper-Hewitt Museum Guide: Design for the Other 90%

Smith, A. B., Banzaert, A., & Susnowitz, S. (2003). The MIT IDEAS Competition: Promoting Innovation for Public Service. Proceedings of the ASEE/IEEE 2003 Frontiers in Education Conference.

Banzaert, A., Goss, J., Smith, A., & Susnowitz, S. (2003). MIT’s Public Service Design Seminars: Inspiring Applied Innovation. Proceedings of the NCIIA 7th Annual Conference.

Banzaert, A., Hiniduma Lokuge, P. D., Smith, A., & Susnowitz, S. (2003). The MIT IDEAS Competition: Innovations for Public Service. Proceedings of the NCIIA 7th Annual Conference.

Oakes, W. C., Duffy, J., Jacobius, T., Linos, P., Lord, S., Schultz, W. W., & Smith, A. (2002). Service learning in engineering. Proceedings of the 2002 ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Session F3A.

Awards and Honors

1980Wendy Bernstein Memorial Music Scholarship, Lexington High School

1984MIT Straight T Award, MITAA

1984MIT Pewter Bowl Award, MITAA

1984MIT Gold Award, MITAA

1988Volunteer of the Year, Africa Region, US Peace Corps

1994Carroll Wilson Award, MIT

1996Meredith Kamm Memorial Award

1999BF Goodrich Collegiate Inventor’s Award

2000Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Invention

2004MacArthur Fellowship

2007Karapetoff Memorial Award