In the News

MechE graduate student Benjamin Weizer and recent alumna Audrey Chen ’24 both credit an ongoing passion for design and engineering to one specific MechE course – a course that has also inspired generations before them.

“Classes like 2.007 are how engineers are forged,” says Weizer, who took 2.007 (Design and Manufacturing I) in 2021. “The hands-on learning experience provided a launchpad into this balance and trade-off game between thinking and doing. When I had an idea, I had the materials and means to try it out and quickly see how well it worked which, in turn, informed design decisions. As a result, I was able to develop and iterate much faster without getting lost in my thoughts about why something would or would not work.”

Graduate student Benjamin Weizer poses with his 2.007 robot in the Pappalardo Lab. Credit: Tony Pulsone

Chen was already somewhat familiar with the class when she arrived at MIT, having participated in high school FIRST Robotics competitions, a program co-founded by Flowers.

“2.007 was one of my favorite classes I took at MIT. I loved the hands-on learning I got designing my own robot, and I learned a lot of machining and design principles,” recalls Chen. “I really appreciated that I had the materials and freedom to try, fail, and try again until I finally got to a design that I was really happy with. I loved seeing the diversity and creativity of designs that my peers produced, and watching the finals was probably one of the most impressive displays of hard work and engineering brilliance I’ve ever seen.” For each, the impact of 2.007 also led to an interest in preserving the history of the course.

Chen, who has a tremendous passion for photography, came across old slides in Flowers’ office while helping with a cleanout. The slides piqued an interest in how the class has changed over time.

“I believe photographs are important ways we can remember the past and reflect upon our future. I saw this project as a natural merging of my interest in photography and my love for MechE and MIT,” says Chen. To ensure this piece of MechE history was well-cataloged, she took on the endeavor of scanning thousands of old slides and donating them to the MIT Museum Archives. “FIRST Robotics was a big part of my high school experience, so I was especially invested in preserving [Professor Flowers’] legacy.”

To help preserve Flowers’ legacy, Audrey Chen ’24 spent hours scanning slides. The scanned images were passed on to the MIT Museum and the department archives. Credit: Tony Pulsone

Weizer transitioned his interest into a project for another class, STS.050 (The History of MIT), where he created a comprehensive digital archive with class materials, photos, videos, news clippings, artifacts and more that capture the history of 2.007 from 1970 through today. Through these materials, he observed how the class originated and changed over time as instructors incorporated new techniques and technologies.

“Professor Flowers knew that students could learn about beam bending, and do the math to figure out when a wood beam would break, but believed that students learned about and built intuition regarding these physical concepts by interacting with things like wood beams and feeling them break in their hands,” says Weizer. “He designed 2.007 to be a place where students could explore, break things, and publicly demonstrate their ability to conceive something and build it.”

As Weizer reflected on his time studying the history of 2.70, along with his personal experience with the course, he connected both to what the future may hold.

“2.007 inspired me to pursue a career in product or machine design because I love designing things that solve problems, and I’m fascinated by how abstract user needs can be translated into engineering theory with physical applications,” he says. “These experiences in 2.007 also showed me the importance that instructors have in students’ lives. I don’t know if I will come back to Academia one day, but if I do it will be because of 2.007.”

Chen, now a project manager at Formlabs, recalls the importance of learning the process that the class provides, not just the finished products that the students compete with.

“Before [2.007], I was bouncing around different STEM interests and disciplines, but I just found so much personal satisfaction in building my robot that I knew that it was the right fit for me. It was the first time I felt that my ‘book smarts’ were concretely applied to a project, and I was so proud of my final project and impressed with my peers. It really made me realize there are so many ways to approach design problems creatively,” she shares.

While 2.007 continues to evolve, its core values of hands-on learning and Flowers’ legacy continues to enrich the lives of students who enroll in the class and learn by doing. Like Weizer and Chen, these students often grow into engineers who become unafraid to fail, making them unstoppable in the world of design and problem solving.