Robbie Berg

Learning Through Designing

I am studying how people learn through design activities in collaboration with the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. This work aims to re-invent learning and education in a digital society. We develop new technologies that, in the spirit of the blocks and fingerpaint of kindergarten, expand the range of what people design and create—and what they learn in the process. For example, I helped design a new generation of "programmable bricks" called Crickets that enable kids to build all kinds of robotic inventions. I have also worked on the development of the PicoBoard, which works with Scratch, a new programming language that enables kids to create interactive stories, games, music, and art—and share their creations on the Web. The PicoBoard allows users to integrate inputs from real-world sensors into their Scratch projects.

I have enjoyed teaching a wide range of courses—14 at last count—in Wellesley's Physics Department. I am particularly interested in expanding the range of engineering experiences available to Wellesley students so that they can take full advantage of our cross-registration programs with MIT and Olin College. Franklyn Turbak (Computer Science) and I have developed a course at Wellesley called Robotic Design Studio, where students learn how to design, assemble, and program robots made out of LEGO parts, sensors, motors, and tiny computers. The course culminates in a robot exhibition where students display their creations. Introduction to Engineering, co-taught with faculty from Olin, gives students an opportunity to explore first-hand the way engineers approach problems in the world. The Art of Electronics aims to remove some of the mystery held inside the black boxes that surround us, helping scientists understand the electronic instrumentation encountered in their research.

Laser Cooling

I have a long-standing interest in laser spectroscopy. I have worked with a number of students and other Wellesley faculty (Glenn Stark and Tom Bauer) in a project that uses lasers to trap and cool rubidium atoms.

Optical Measurements of Chloroplast Movement

With Martina Koniger and Gary Harris (Biological Sciences) and a number of Wellesley students we have developed an optical technique for monitoring light-induced chloroplast movements in leaves. To make these measurements we have developed a new instrument based on the LogoChip, an easy to program microcontroller that I have helped develop.

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