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Manga has grown in reputation lately amongst younger adults. The Japanese comics and graphic novels dominated final yr’s Circana BookScan graphic novels gross sales charts.
The IEEE Girls in Engineering group determined to make use of manga’s reputation with younger individuals as a solution to encourage ladies to contemplate a profession in STEM fields.
WIE held its first competitors final yr to search out the best-written manga that centered round a personality WIE created: Riko-chan, a preuniversity pupil who makes use of STEM instruments to resolve on a regular basis issues. The competitors, which was supported by the IEEE Japan Council and the IEEE New Initiatives Committee, was open to all IEEE members and pupil members. They might submit a number of authentic tales individually, in groups, or on behalf of a preuniversity pupil.
Out of 43 submissions from around the globe, six winners had been chosen.
The profitable manga tales can be found to learn on-line.
Explaining how blockchain and aerodynamics work
One of many winners was IEEE Member Carolyn Sher-DeCusatis, who teaches software program engineering at Western Governors College, in Salt Lake Metropolis. Her areas of curiosity embrace physics, semiconductors, and laptop programming. WIE has revealed her two profitable comics on its web site.
Sher-DeCusatis says she entered the competition as a result of she enjoys encouraging children—particularly ladies and younger girls—to pursue a STEM profession and to point out them how nice the sphere is.
She has quite a lot of expertise writing fiction as a result of it’s her passion. That is the primary time her work has been revealed.
“Once I noticed [IEEE WIE] was on the lookout for tales a few younger girl who was fixing issues with engineering, I believed that it was proper up my alley and that it will be enjoyable,” she says.
Hoping to attach with younger readers via a Pokémon-inspired card recreation, Sher-DeCusatis’s first comedian,Riko-chan: Cybersecurity Engineer, facilities round two of the title character’s classmates who’re involved whether or not a uncommon buying and selling card used of their favourite recreation is genuine.
Riko-chan makes use of blockchain know-how to assist confirm the cardboard’s authenticity. Individuals use blockchains to maintain data of transactions and exchanges of information with out counting on a government. The system is designed to make use of cryptography to guard data from being altered or stolen.
The thought for Sher-DeCusatis’s second comedian, she says, got here from a private expertise she had whereas volunteering for IEEE.
“By way of the group, I’ve helped [preuniversity] academics conduct hands-on actions in native colleges,” she says. “One of many school rooms I went to didn’t have supplies to show college students about STEM topics, so the instructor taught a lesson on aerodynamics utilizing paper airplanes.”
On the finish of the lesson, college students needed to construct a paper aircraft and throw it at a goal. The expertise impressed Riko-chan: Aeronautical Engineer.
Whereas strolling via a forest, a paper aircraft instantly lands in entrance of Riko-chan, almost hitting her. Her buddy, who additionally was within the forest, had constructed the aircraft and defined to Riko-chan that she hadn’t meant to hit her; the aircraft was purported to land farther away. Riko-chan makes use of her data of aerodynamics to point out her buddy how you can enhance the aircraft’s design.
Sher-DeCusatis says she hopes readers can determine with Riko-chan.
“I feel having various illustration in media, like books, comics, and graphic novels, will assist convey extra youngsters into STEM,” she says. “Fiction reaches our hearts, and when younger individuals learn tales about somebody who seems like them, they’ll say: ‘That could possibly be me.’
“It’s actually essential to excite college students from a wide range of backgrounds about engineering,” she provides, “as a result of it’s important to the way forward for STEM to have quite a lot of completely different voices contributing.
“A lot of our world relies on know-how, so we have to have quite a lot of voices to form its future.
“I additionally assume it’s enjoyable and thrilling,” she provides. “That’s why I’m nonetheless doing it in spite of everything these years.”
Confronting local weather change and cybersecurity threats
The opposite 4 profitable comics cowl synthetic intelligence, local weather change, and cybersecurity.
Riko-chan and the Good Circuit, written by IEEE Member Lais Lara Baptista, follows the character as she and a buddy attempt to restore the outdated lights in her grandmother’s home. The 2 ask a web based AI circuit-design program for instructions on how you can restore the lights’ outdated circuitry.
“I see Riko-chan as a robust motivator,” says Baptista, a full-stack developer based mostly in Brazil. “I hope my comedian conjures up ladies to see themselves as problem-solvers, able to mastering the world of STEM.”
Highschool pupil Julia Griffin wished her comedian to encourage children to guard the surroundings. Her mom, IEEE Member Denise Griffin, submitted her story, Movement Detected, on her behalf. Within the story, Riko-chan and a buddy are capable of escape being hit by a automobile whereas crossing a busy street. They discover that the pedestrian crossing signal was obstructed by a department from a 100-year-old tree. To enhance the street’s security measures with out damaging the tree, the ladies set up a movement detector that units off a flashing mild to inform drivers when individuals are crossing the road.
“A love for the world round us can encourage younger minds to pursue STEM and resolve a number of the world’s greatest challenges: environmental points,” Griffin says.
Maira Ratnarajah, writer of Lifetime of Our Stunning Earth, burdened STEM’s position in confronting the local weather disaster in her comedian. Ratnarajah is a highschool pupil in the UK. IEEE Member Equipment August submitted the story on her behalf.
In Ratnarajah’s comedian, Riko-chan sees a toxic cloud within the sky and works to scale back the carbon footprint people go away on Earth.
“STEM expertise and data may help engineers design renewable power programs and examine how local weather change impacts our ecosystems,” Ratnarajah says. “Manga, just like the one I wrote, can encourage ladies to pursue STEM to develop inexperienced applied sciences.”
The ultimate manga entry, Riko-chan: The Science Solver, was written by Devidas Kulkarni, an IEEE graduate pupil member. It focuses on the significance of cybersecurity. In it, Riko-chan’s buddy Reizei discovers that his cellphone has been hacked. Riko-chan is ready to monitor down who did it.
Submissions for this yr’s manga story competitors at the moment are being accepted. Try the principles and deadlines.
In case your group want to assist the competitors, contact the WIE employees.
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