Every semester, the Laboratory for Living Systems Engineering (LLSE) hosts lab tours for juniors and seniors from the Orthopaedic Medical Magnet High School. Supplementing their biology, chemistry, and physics classes, this Annual Medical Device Field Trip includes an introduction into tissue engineering and drug screening by Dr. Megan McCain, a full lab tour, and examples of equipment in use.
For the most recent trip, we focused on centrifuges, which are machines that rapidly rotate samples in order to mix or separate fluids of different densities or liquids from solids. Each station focused on a different aspect on how we can apply principles from physics in our daily work.
The high school students were able to spin down vials of salad dressing, hot sauce, and juice to see how the various contents of each separate. They also saw a laser engraver and 3D printer in process, both of which are essential tools in our lab.
While they were only here for an hour and a half, we hope that they were able to see real life applications of centrifuges and think about how physics can apply to their daily lives. Thank you for coming out to visit us Ortho!!
Published on March 5th, 2020
Last updated on April 1st, 2021