Transcript from 526: Take a Taste of Engineers with Victoria Serrano, Christopher White, and Elecia White.

EW (00:00:07):

Welcome to Embedded. I am Elecia White, here with Christopher White. Our guest this week is Dr. Victoria Serrano. We are going to talk about Panama, education, disability and who knows what else. Maybe PID loops.

CW (00:00:24):

Hi, Victoria. Welcome.

VS (00:00:26):

Hi. It is a pleasure for me to be here with you. Thank you.

EW (00:00:30):

Could you tell us about yourself, as if we met at an IEEE meetup that had elevator talks?

VS (00:00:40):

Okay. I am Victoria Serrano. I am a professor at the Technological University of Panama in the Chiriquí Regional Center. I have been working there for more than 15 years. I am also an Arizona State University alumni. And a STEM programs promoter, passionate about science, technology and engineering education.

EW (00:01:19):

All right. That gives us a little bit to work on, but we have many more question, particularly about the STEM education. First, we are going to do lightning round. We have mentioned you are a little hesitant about this. Let us see how it goes.

CW (00:01:35):

Okay. Which is better? Arizona State University, University of Arizona or Grand Canyon University?

VS (00:01:43):

Of course ASU. It is the best one. For me, it was a great opportunity to be there. I studied there for more than six years. So I spent a lot of time in my education getting my master's and my PhD at Arizona State University. It gave me not only the foundation for an electrical engineering specialization, but also it gave me the tools to contribute with community and change the life of many people with the projects that I develop worldwide.

EW (00:02:24):

You mentioned that your university is in Panama, which is a point where you can get to both oceans. Which of the two oceans you can get to is your favorite?

VS (00:02:37):

I prefer to go to the Caribbean Sea, just because it is way beautiful. But both oceans also give you a lot of different places to explore. The great advantage of Panama is that you can go from one ocean to the other one maybe in about three hours. So even in one day you can explore and get a view of both of them and feel energized.

CW (00:03:13):

Could you bicycle from one to the other?

VS (00:03:17):

Maybe, but it is going to take you more time because three hours is just by car. So in bicycle, I have never tried, but it is going to take you a lot of time also because you have to go through the mountains. So it is going to be up and downs. Yeah.

EW (00:03:34):

Do you normally complete one project, or start a dozen?

VS (00:03:41):

When we talk about projects, especially because you have to develop from the spark that you have about something that you want to do, I try to get all my attention to one of them.

(00:03:56):

I may have other tasks that I have to complete as well, but they do not demand a lot of my time. So when we talk about project, I try to take one at a time, just because I want to get the best of it. If you want to do it, for me, it is better just to keep all your attention to one of them to complete it, and then to continue with the other one.

CW (00:04:29):

Favorite fictional robot?

VS (00:04:34):

My favorite one? I do not remember the name, but it is the one that they created even a movie. I think it is just because it brings also some emotional part. So that makes you feel like it is not only a robot that can make something, but it makes you feel connected with your emotions. So that is why I like that one, but I do not remember the name right now.

EW (00:05:08):

WALL-E.

VS (00:05:10):

Yeah, that one. WALL-E. Do you not think it makes you feel emotional, when it is trying to do different tasks and it connects with you with your emotions, with what you feel and how you feel it. That is probably my favorite one. That is why.

EW (00:05:33):

You did your education at Arizona State University?

CW (00:05:37):

Lightning round is over.

EW (00:05:38):

Oh, yes. Sorry. You did your PhD at Arizona State University. Your thesis was in PID controller tuning and adaptation subject to quantization effects. I have to admit, this sounds super interesting to me, but I think I might be one of the few. Could you describe it a bit?

VS (00:06:02):

Yeah. This was a project that we were working with another professor in another area, which was not control system, but he was more specializing in the power electronics area. The idea was just to study what were the effects when we were having different scenarios, when the different devices of the buck converter were just getting degradation because over time.

(00:06:47):

I know it should take some time, some considerable amount of time to degrade. But when we talk about devices such as inductors, capacitors or whatever device, they do not measure the same level as when they were new. So what we were trying to do with this project, was just to describe the different scenarios when they were changing their values, for example, 5%, 10%, 20%, five or six different scenarios.

(00:07:32):

What we did was to design the controller for that specific scenario. And then we were just choosing the right controller, depending on the scenario, based on... It was a rule in which we were choosing the right one, based on that rule. You had to minimize a specific parameter just to choose, "Okay, this is the perfect fit for that scenario."

(00:08:10):

That is why this was adapting, because when we had the different scenarios, we already designed the different controllers. But then we had to choose the best one, based on that parameter that we wanted to minimize. I do not know if I explained what I did with that specific research.

EW (00:08:36):

Let me see if I understand. You were tuning a buck converter, that was degrading over time because it was aging. And you had a controller that would make the output be the same, but it was a set of several controllers-

VS (00:08:55):

Exactly.

EW (00:08:56):

That you chose, based on the characteristics currently in the system.

VS (00:09:03):

It was like a metric that you had to fulfill, so that you could choose the specific controller. But if we were not getting close to that minimum value of that metric, then we had to choose the next controller.

EW (00:09:30):

Okay. I liked that controller discussion, your dissertation. But what I should be asking you about is education and STEM, because that is more what you do now. That is science, technology, engineering, and math, but the technical education. How are you involved with that now?

VS (00:09:53):

Well, I would like to tell you that I started when I was studying at ASU. The way that I started was because I was getting involved with student organizations at my university. They were having some outreach programs, in which they were trying to involve high school students or even middle school students.

(00:10:23):

They were trying to encourage them to get into university, because you know that the population, especially when we talk about minorities in the United States, not most of them go to the university. That was our first goal, just to show them that this was a great opportunity. If you invest your time during those four, five years on average in which you can get a degree in engineering, that pays off at the end of the day.

(00:11:08):

I realized that this encouragement that you were giving students, that was showing them a different path, completely different from what they were usually doing. I realized, "Okay, if you are doing this for the community here, I also wanted to do the same in Panama."

(00:11:40):

That is why I applied for a call from IEEE. Then we got the funding just to develop a very short outreach program in Panama. That is how it started here. But then when I got here, because I finished my studies in the US, I got back here, and I started doing more outreach programs here with different schools.

(00:12:21):

We already created a community, because every time that I am trying to develop a new program, the teachers are like, "Okay, we are up. Just let us know when we are going to start." That has changed not only the lives of the students who get involved in those projects, but also in the way that they see what they can do for others.

(00:12:55):

As a result of that, we have had students who have participated in our projects, and now they are engineers. Now they are also studying engineering. The reason why they started doing that was because they realized, "Okay, with engineering, we can also do a lot of things to change the lives of other people." So that is really rewarding for us.

EW (00:13:23):

The ability to change the lives of other people, is definitely one of the things that brings people to engineering educations. What do you see pushing them away from engineering?

VS (00:13:41):

Honestly, I think it is math. Just because they feel it is like a problem that they have to overcome all the time that they have to study at their levels. But when you try to show them what you can do with math, that allows them to see that it is not only a trouble that I have to deal with, but it is also a tool that I can use to develop solutions to help other people.

(00:14:19):

For example, when you show them 3D design, which is one of their favorite ones. Probably if you tell them, "Okay, you have to measure a length and you have to draw a cube," or, "You have to calculate a distance between two points," they do not see that excitement about doing that.

(00:14:47):

But when you show them what they can do with that, and when you tell them, "Okay, now what you are designing on the computer, you can materialize this into a product, or something that can be a solution for someone." Now they started doing like, "Okay, math [may not be my friend], but it could be my partner that I can use to develop wonderful things."

EW (00:15:24):

Math is a tool.

VS (00:15:26):

Yeah.

EW (00:15:29):

I think doing more and more robotics over my career, has made it so that I finally understand trigonometry. I did not know how I was going to use that in high school, but now a lot of my life is spent with atan and all of the sines and cosines.

VS (00:15:55):

Yeah. I have realized that robotics is something that is very exciting for children. That is why most of the projects that I develop with students, with either middle school or high school students, involved the use of robotics.

(00:16:12):

Because when you tell them as a theoretical thing, "Okay, if you type this, or if you drag and drop this block, that makes you move a motor, that is like the hand of a robot, for example." But when you tell them, you only tell them.

(00:16:35):

But when they do it, and they realize that what you are telling them is actually working, it is just awesome for them. You can see in their eyes that they get really excited when a robot move. That is very satisfying, because you are actually doing something for that new generation that can become the future engineers of our system.

EW (00:17:10):

The physicality of robots, that you can write software and change the physical world, has always been a draw to me. Is that part of what you see in your students? Or are they okay with just software?

VS (00:17:28):

No, they usually like to mix both things, not only the software. In my personal experience, when I tell them only, "Okay, if you could code this, this is going to calculate something." But if when you see them connecting all the parts and getting them to move, that is really exciting for them. It is.

EW (00:17:56):

We have both mentioned STEM, which is the catchall for technology education. But then there is the other acronym, STEAM, which is the science, technology, engineering, arts and math. How important do you think the art is in that?

VS (00:18:17):

I do believe this is really important, just because art makes you activate the other part of your brain. That balance the scientific part with the other part, which is more related to creativity.

(00:18:36):

In my personal experience, since I have been playing the piano since I was maybe eight years old, I know the importance of including art in everything you do. I am not a professional pianist, but this has always been with me when I am studying. That also helps me to balance when I get, for example, stuck. When I am trying to develop a new code, or to try to develop a new method to calculate something.

(00:19:24):

But also this helps you to balance that life, that scientific life, with the creativity that you have to develop, to bring new solutions to whatever you are facing in life.

EW (00:19:44):

You not only do outreach for STEM education, you also are involved with the idea of STEM education for people with disabilities. Could you tell me a bit about your work there?

VS (00:20:02):

Yeah. I started working with engineering education to develop solutions for people with disabilities. Because I had the opportunity to study in the US, and I knew how everything worked there for people with disabilities.

(00:20:23):

For example, we could have doors in which you only push a button and then it is going to open for you, so that you can get into the place. But we do not have something like that here in our university. All of the doors that are in the university are that type of door, hinge doors.

(00:20:49):

If a person comes into the university with, for example, a wheelchair, they cannot go by themselves to even the restroom. They always have to wait for a person who helps them, because they cannot even open the door. How they are going to go into the restroom, if they do not have the possibility to open the door?

(00:21:21):

When I saw that, I was like, "Okay, if I saw that solution in another part of the world, I would like to have something like that here." I know it is very easy just to think about the solution that you can buy online, and just bring it and install it. But for me, it was more important just to get people involved in that solution, and let my students learn that they could provide that solution.

(00:21:53):

It was very interesting for me, because when I brought the challenge to my students, I was like, "Okay, let us go some brainstorming. What do you think we could do to provide that solution to open the door automatically?"

(00:22:11):

One of them brought the idea of using the motor that the cars uses to open and close the windows, because that should be a model that has enough power to push a door, which is something that is very heavy. They started working on that, and they made it work.

(00:22:45):

That is why for me it was just very important to integrate the solutions that you could have with engineering education, but also with the problems that people with disabilities face every day here.

EW (00:23:03):

Your example of a door that opens with the button, I am familiar with them. They are very handy for people who use wheelchairs or who are on crutches, which I have done that. They are also useful for people who are carrying boxes, or just do not have their hands available.

(00:23:23):

There are many technologies that were initially adapted, adopted, because they were nominally for people with disabilities, but they turn out to be useful for just about everyone.

VS (00:23:44):

I was one of them who was, several times, carrying a lot of things in the US when I was studying. I was bringing my books, my backpack, my lunch bag. Everything in my hands. I did not have my hands available to open the door. So for me, it was very handy just to have a button to push it and to be able to enter the room. I am very familiar with that

(00:24:14):

So as you said, yeah, this is not only for people with disability, but for people who are carrying a lot of things. Also, we have to have something in mind. A person, maybe it is in a wheelchair, maybe for the rest of their lives. But some people are having situations in which they cannot open a door, and that is something temporary.

(00:24:48):

We do not think that we are going to be in that situation anytime. Hopefully not. Hopefully we are always healthy, but you never know. If you face that situation in which you need something to be opened for you, then you are going to remember, "Oh, I would like to have this button, just to be able to push it, and to open the door so that I can get into the room," for example.

(00:25:19):

So yeah, we have to think and the solutions that we can provide to people who are less fortunate, to not be that healthy at that moment. But we have to think and try to empathize with those people.

EW (00:25:45):

Do you find that your students get that? That they really understand the empathy? Or do you have to explain it to them?

VS (00:25:53):

No, I think the last project that I work with engineering education to try to bring solutions for people with disability was very touching. Not only because, okay, it was nice just to teach them how to do 3D printing, 3D design, how to program an Arduino board or things like that. But also because now they were relating to what other people were feeling, especially people with disabilities.

(00:26:36):

One of the stories that I can bring up is that one of the students who was participating in that project, one of the weeks that we were meeting, she was like, "Oh! Now that I went to that specific store, I realized that there was a toy that had the dots for a person who is blind to be able to read it."

CW (00:27:10):

Oh. Braille. Okay.

VS (00:27:14):

Yeah, the braille. I was like, "Okay. This is really nice. We are getting what we really want with this project." Because it was not only about teaching them Arduino or 3D printing, 3D design or how to code, because that is something that you can even learn online with a YouTube video maybe.

(00:27:39):

But that feeling in which you are now realizing that, "Okay, now she is realizing that this braille system is important to include it, even in toys that are for a regular person who does not have a disability." For me, that was something that was really touching.

(00:28:13):

Even when they were developing their prototypes to be able to print the signs with braille system, they were being very careful with how they were placing the dots, because they knew that if they placed a dot incorrectly, that was going to say something completely different from what they were trying to say.

(00:28:48):

That for me was also very touching, because you could see that you did not have to explain how to empathize with another person, with a person with disability. They were just getting the feeling. They were just getting the real idea of empathy.

EW (00:29:11):

Do you get any pushback or disagreement on this sort of work?

VS (00:29:17):

No, I think this was a very good project actually. The good thing about this project when we developed that in Panama, was that we also had the company of the teachers of each of the schools that were participating in the program.

(00:29:45):

That was also a very good thing, because they could replicate what they were learning at the university, in their own schools. Actually, some of them even started replicating the same thing. So that was a multiple factor that okay, what they learn, now they are teaching them to others, to other people.

EW (00:30:14):

That is always so important. Helps you understand better, when you have taught it to someone else.

VS (00:30:19):

Yeah, definitely.

EW (00:30:21):

Okay. This is sort of a weird question. Listeners of the show may understand where I am headed with this, but I am going to just come out with- It is kind of a weird direction right now. In 2019, you won the IEEE Meritorious Achievement in Outreach and Informal Education. Could you talk about what that is and what you were nominated for?

VS (00:30:48):

Yeah. Well, that is one of the awards that the Educational Activities Board created several years ago, just to highlight the work that people have done in different parts of the world, in trying to teach or to bring outreach programs, but as an informal education. That means that we are not necessarily in a classroom or at a university or a school, but in different places in which you are trying to bring education.

(00:31:42):

I got nominated in 2019 because I had participated in outreach programs, not only the United States, but also in Panama. We developed some projects not only in schools, but also for example, in fairs or at a space next to a church, for example. We were providing those programs to try to encourage students to get into STEM.

(00:32:28):

It is prestigious. I think it is very prestigious, because when we talk about IEEE, especially for the electrical engineering field, I think for us, this is top. Once you get an award from IEEE, that means a lot.

(00:32:54):

That also opens a lot of doors, for me once I got it, because many people did not know what I was doing here. Once I got that award, I started getting invitation from other, even private sector, that were inviting me to- Not only to be part of their programs, but also to give a word as an advice to what we can do, or how we can improve this. So that was thanks to this award.

EW (00:33:47):

So it has some effect with raising your profile.

VS (00:33:50):

Yeah.

EW (00:33:50):

Did you care about the external validation of it, someone saying you did a good job? Or was that just not important?

VS (00:34:02):

For me, it is important. But also I think it makes you feel like, "Okay. It is worth it." All the sacrifice that I am doing, all the extra effort, because those programs are usually programs that I do in my spare time.

(00:34:31):

The first reward that we get is a personal reward, that has something that- It does not have any price in life. But also being recognized by some other people, also makes you feel very, very well.

(00:34:47):

And also makes you elevate your profile. Because now people see you as somebody who can give an advice, or can give a good point of view of how we can improve this. And that is why this is really important.

EW (00:35:16):

How does STEM outreach in the US differ from that in Panama? For me, it seems like they would be totally different, but I do not have a good sense at all. Can you help me with what Panama is like with this?

VS (00:35:31):

I think in Panama it would really depend on the region also. Because I am maybe 250 miles of the main city. Here, especially when I talk with teachers and I want to do, for example, outreach with different schools, they usually tell me, "Yes to everything." They are always just waiting for an opportunity to get involved with these programs.

(00:36:12):

That is something good, because usually when you have to get permissions from their directors, you get their approval very easily. I think in the US in that sense it could be more rigorous, in the sense that all the approvals that you have to get through the different supervisors or directors or things like that. Maybe in that sense it could be, I think, it a little bit easier here.

EW (00:36:59):

Are the students different? You have worked with elementary school kids in both locations. Are they different? Or are they at the core the same?

VS (00:37:11):

I think they are pretty much the same, in the sense that usually students who get involved with outreach is because they feel passionate about robotics, about coding, about learning new things.

(00:37:27):

In that sense, they are pretty much the same, because when we talk about outreach in the US, there are kids who want to learn something new. Like, "Okay, I have heard, for example, about coding, about Arduino, about robotics." They want to learn. So they want something who can guide them. In that sense, they are pretty much the same as well here.

EW (00:37:58):

Do you also look at race and gender diversity issues? Or is it just open to everyone, and everyone is encouraged to attend?

VS (00:38:10):

They are encouraged to attend, but I usually try to get girls involved. So when I am organizing those programs, I tell the teachers who are involved with the program, "Please bring at least 50% of girls, because we want them to get a taste."

(00:38:38):

I would like them to become engineers as well. But if they do not do, at least I would like them to take a taste of what engineers looks like.

EW (00:38:55):

Going back to the outreach and informal education award from IEEE, how did you get nominated for it? Did you do it yourself? How did that work?

VS (00:39:06):

Oh, I was nominated by another lady who is part of the IEEE Panama section, who knew what I was doing with outreach here in my region. She was like, "Okay. I think this is a great opportunity for you to get awarded, if you get selected for this award."

(00:39:36):

So she was aware. I mean, Panama is a very small country. Especially when we talk about IEEE, usually when you start doing a lot of things, other IEEE members know what you are doing. So this was something very, very good to know, and she was aware of that. That is why she got me nominated.

EW (00:40:04):

Did you do anything nice for her?

VS (00:40:09):

Yeah, yeah. I gave them a thank you note with a flower. Because we have to be thankful in life, not because you are expecting something good to be back at you, but you have to be thankful. That is it.

EW (00:40:34):

Going back to outreach, you mentioned Arduinos and robotics. Do you have a kit you used? Or did you put one together, when you go visit students? And do you have ones for different ages?

VS (00:40:52):

I usually use the basic one, which is a Arduino Uno. I do not really have a kit. When I create the program, I know how to start from the very basic, which is just to lighting up an LED, and to more advance just to read information from a sensor for example, or to move a model.

(00:41:21):

So what I do just is to make a list of all the devices that I am going to need for all the sessions, and then I bring them all together for the group of students that I am going to work with.

EW (00:41:44):

Do they get to keep them?

VS (00:41:46):

They actually do, because one of the ideas that when we develop these programs is just that they can replicate what they learned at the university in their own schools.

(00:42:01):

We do not want them to have an excuse like, "Okay, we cannot do it because we do not have the equipment." So that is why we try to use low cost equipment, so that they can also replicate it in their schools. We donating part of the equipment so that they can start. They can have a starting point from there.

CW (00:42:27):

I was going to ask how this program feeds back into the schools. Because it is great to have these programs, but if it is not ongoing, or if it is not replicated in schools, or the kids do not persist with it, then it is less likely to be successful. So how does that work?

VS (00:42:46):

Yeah, that is why one of the key points that I ask when a group of students is going to participate, is just to get one of the teachers involved. If we are having, for example, a meeting once a week, they have to be there with their teachers, because otherwise- I mean, they are going to graduate eventually. They are not going to be at school anymore.

(00:43:15):

So how are we going to keep this sustainable over time? That is why we have to have our teachers involved, because at the same time that they are also learning and they are also getting all the hands-on experience, they can also do it with other students at their schools.

(00:43:40):

Because also when we work with those students, they are not 30 students from each school, because we do not have the capacity. We do not have a room enough for more than a hundred students. So we only bring maybe six or eight students per school. That is how they can also replicate the same experience at their schools, after they finish their project.

EW (00:44:14):

Okay. So in Arduino Uno, you can do a lot of different light things, because as you mentioned, it has LEDs on it. To do more motor things, you need a motor board and some motors. Do you use one of the standard motor boards? Or do you have them wired up directly?

VS (00:44:35):

Yeah, we use one of the motor shields, which is already just ready to plug in onto the Arduino Uno, just because it is more convenient for a short program. If we have to build everything from scratch, it is going to take more time, and probably we would not be able to cover all the topics that we want to develop with them.

EW (00:45:13):

Of course not. And the motor shields are a good idea, because if you hook the motors directly to the Arduino, you are going to blow up the Arduino eventually.

VS (00:45:22):

Exactly, exactly, exactly. Of what the motor shield does, for example. But we do not get into details, because that is going to require more specialized topics. Like knowing about, I do not know, maybe MOSFETs or transistors in general. So we do not go into a lot of details with that.

(00:45:52):

We explain them why we need the motor shield, and why we cannot connect the motor right into the Arduino, for example.

EW (00:46:02):

And then do the students have their own computers? Or do they have computers through their school? How does that work?

VS (00:46:09):

We have had two different programs in which, for example, one of them, they were using our computers at the university. Because they were coming to the sessions at the university, they were using our computers.

(00:46:27):

In the second version, I think second and third version, they were bringing their own computers. Just because they also wanted to do something extra during their week when we were not meeting, and they wanted to work a little bit more. So they did not have to wait until we meet up again so that they could do their work.

EW (00:46:56):

And then the students make small projects. Is that right?

VS (00:47:03):

Yeah. Yeah.

EW (00:47:05):

Do they all end up making the same small projects? Or do they have some freedom on what they are going to do?

VS (00:47:10):

Well, usually they do the same thing, just because when we develop those projects, they are participating as part of a funded project. So when you write the proposal, you have to specify everything that you are going to do with them. The way that we developed the proposal, we said, "Okay, this is what they are going to do." So we have to keep in that scope.

(00:47:49):

But what they do is that, for example, in one of the projects that we developed, they got into a competition at the end of a program. They all had the same robots. But we gave them the basic coding and then we told them, "Okay, now you can improve your code. What can you change to improve it?"

(00:48:21):

And that is how they started just improving them to be able to, for example, to reach the final line in the shortest time. So they all do, for example, if we are talking about robotics and they were doing a robot, all of them have their same robots. But they could tweak a little bit if they wanted to change their code, or if they wanted to change the position of a sensor, for example. Things like that.

EW (00:48:54):

I like when students starts to tweak things, and realize how much freedom they truly have. Do you show them some of the more grandiose Arduino Uno projects?

(00:49:09):

There are so many people who have done amazing things, but some of them are a little overwhelming. And yet, knowing that all of that code is out there and repeatable, replicable...

VS (00:49:25):

Yeah. Yeah, the good thing is that when I start doing, for example, these type of projects, I show them what other people have done with what they are going to learn. And of course I show them videos in which people have done amazing things with Arduinos. That is just to try to open their minds so that they can see, "Okay. Now this is getting exciting, because if I apply what they are going to teach me, I can eventually do all those things."

EW (00:50:14):

Do you provide your lesson plans to the teachers, for when they go back to the schools?

VS (00:50:22):

Yeah, because the idea is just that they can replicate what they are receiving at the university, so they could have a starting point. But I have to admit that some of them are actually having also robotics clubs in their schools, so that also helps with whatever we are teaching them.

(00:50:50):

Also sometimes they are even giving us feedback on things that we are not aware of. For example, "Okay, professor, this is one new device that came up," for example, and probably I was not aware of that one.

(00:51:11):

The good thing is that we still nowadays we keep communication, because that is a way that we can get in touch in, for example, if I have a new program. Or if they have also even news about the students who participated in our programs. Now they are, for example, studying abroad, or now they are doing another project, or now they are replicating whatever they learned at the university at their schools.

CW (00:51:52):

Have you had to deal with students who are interested and excited to learn electronics and curious, but also maybe a little bit afraid of breaking something or doing something wrong? Or I do not know, the electricity, motors and things and wires. If you have not experienced it before, sometimes there is a feeling of, "Oh, I am going to break something, or damage something, or shock something."

VS (00:52:18):

Well, I have a phrase with my students at the university, for example, when they blow up something, a capacitor or something, I was like, "Okay, this is impro of knowledge." They already know and when they do something probably that is not correct in their connection, they are like, "Okay, this is impro knowledge, professor."

(00:52:55):

You have to give them confidence. It could be maybe terrifying when you have never done a connection and you do not know what is going to happen. But you have to give them confidence. I think that is the most important thing. Because we are always learning something new. Who have not felt afraid of something that you do not know if this is going to work? Everybody.

(00:53:32):

But if you make them feel confident, even if they make a mistake. Because mistakes helps you to learn that the next time this is not the right way to plug in something, for example, when we talk about electronics. But that does not mean that every time that you do it, it is going to fail. It is just going to be a learning lesson. That is it.

EW (00:54:08):

When I think about online tutorials and curriculums for outreach or intro to STEM courses, I of course think of the ones in English, because that is my native language. But yours are in Spanish, and you have posted your lesson plans.

VS (00:54:33):

You mean posted on a website or something?

EW (00:54:38):

Yes.

VS (00:54:40):

Well, the lessons plans for outreach, they have been shared with, for example, the teachers who are participating in the different outreach projects. But I do not think I have it on a website or so.

EW (00:55:01):

You have your Materias page on your university website, and I speak only enough Spanish to know that this is a lot about electronics.

VS (00:55:13):

Yeah. What I really have done is just, especially when we started pandemics, I started creating a lot of videos on a YouTube channel regarding the different problems that they could solve, especially in the subjects that I was teaching at that time.

(00:55:41):

It is very interesting because this is open for everybody, not only for my students. Of course for my students, I was sharing them the link. But since this is public, it is open to anybody, I have had questions from people who I do not even know.

(00:56:04):

They are asking, "Okay, why this result is multiplied by 16?" for example. Sometimes when I get the time, I try to answer, but I mean, not all the time, but sometimes I do.

(00:56:21):

But yeah, this is actually open for everybody. If you go into that channel, you are going to find probably a lot of problems about physics to electromagnetism. But also about power electronics, control systems or how to get a transfer function, things like that.

(00:56:50):

It really depends on the subject that I get assigned every semester, and then sometimes I develop new videos for them to see step-by-step how to get to the solution.

EW (00:57:12):

Clearly my cyberstalking was insufficient. I did not find your YouTube channel. I will have to ask you to send that to me, so I can put it in the show notes.

VS (00:57:25):

Yeah. It is just because it is not by Victoria Serrano. So if you are going to try to find me as Victoria Serrano-

EW (00:57:34):

Exactly.

VS (00:57:34):

You are not going to find it. It is because I created a website for the other programs that I was also doing outreach. I was like, "Okay, this is a mobile center." And then I created the YouTube channel for that mobile center that was doing outreach in different places. That is why.

EW (00:58:05):

That makes sense. Victoria, it has been wonderful to talk with you. Do you have any thoughts you would like to leave us with?

VS (00:58:14):

Yeah, I would say because probably some people who are going to listen to this podcast are related to science. Or at least they like it, they like to listen about people who are doing science, technology, engineering. That you are always going to find difficult situations in life, especially in the engineering field.

(00:58:42):

But I would say never give up because that is part of life. That is part of the challenges that we are always going to find. So I would say that just try and persist and be resilient, because that is the way that you are always going to succeed [in] the end.

EW (00:59:10):

That is some excellent advice. Our guest has been Dr. Victoria Serrano, Engineering Professor at the Technological University of Panama, Chiriquí Regional Center.

CW (00:59:23):

Thanks, Victoria.

VS (00:59:24):

Thank you so much for everything and the opportunity.

EW (00:59:28):

Thank you to Christopher for producing and co-hosting. Thank you to our Patreon and Ko-fi supporters for Victoria's microphone. And thank you for listening. You can always contact us at show@embedded.fm or hit the contact link on embedded.fm.

(00:59:40):

Oh, wait. I have a few more thank yous here actually, because we were nominated for the IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement in Outreach and Informal Education. I know it is a bit of a mouthful, but it is there. Mark was fantastic in retrieving this idea from the dustbin, and actually putting it together and getting everything sorted. So big thank you to Mark.

(01:00:12):

Also, thank you to the folks who wrote endorsement letters, including David, Aaron, Scott, Francesco and Patrick. I cannot even say how honored I am that you were all willing to take the time to tell people that you appreciate the show. So thank you. Thank you very, very, very much.

(01:00:35):

And now a quote to leave you with. “Sighted or blind, deaf or hearing, each of us holds just the tiniest fraction of the world’s wisdom. Admitting we do not know everything, will help us on this trek for knowledge.” That is a quote from Haben Girma in "Haben: The deafblind woman who conquered Harvard Law." It was a really good book, very eye-opening.