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Today we will be getting to know all about the Robotics Lead of the ERBOT $200,000 Prize Winner, Joel Edelstein! In this interview, he shares his first hand experience trying to make the world a better place using robotics!

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What is the contest itself for?

  The Department of Energy (D.O.E.) created the ERBOT prize contest in order to provide fresh ideas for energy efficiency. The general problem to be solved is to improve the heating and cooling of houses, etc to reduce the U.S. climate global carbon footprint hopefully by 2035.

Why did you decide to enter the contest?

"J.R. let me know

When Clovia McIntosh comes across an unmet need in everyday life, she doesn’t lament its absence – she invents something to solve the problem.

A graduate of the University of Bridgeport business school, Clovia is the founder of IRL Innovations – IRL standing for, appropriately enough, "In Real Life." With an eye towards "inventing real-life solutions for real life problems," Clovia has developed designs for three separate products, all intended to make everyday life just a little bit easier.

Clovia’s flagship product is Toobe, a foldable, standup bathtub insert designed to prevent young

MakeHaven aims to provide people with an empowering space to build skills, foster creativity, and spark entrepreneurship. We are always working to expand the number of people we reach, particularly within communities that have not historically accessed the resources of MakeHaven as often.

When the staff of the New Haven Board of Education reached out to us to ask if we could do a program with parents of Fair Haven students, I knew this was a golden opportunity to introduce this community to MakeHaven. This pilot program would be hybrid, with online introductions to skills followed by  in

Project Idea

The idea for this project was to utilize the (awesome!) large format printer to make prints for myself and others. One of the downsides I've found with framing things (especially large prints) is that the frames become quite ungainly to transport/move with. The aim with this project was to make a system that was more portable and simple - i.e. no glass to break, etc. The canvas material is perfect for this!

The concept is pretty simple: clamp two edges of the print with wood strips, and then use a bar behind the canvas print to stretch the print taught. If the back bar is

This is my second version of a phone cradle so that my elederly parents can do Facetime with relatives hands free.

So during the Work-At-Home period, my architectural design team got into a rhythm of MSTeams meeting and communicated pretty well. However, we encountered a technical challenge after re-entry to our office. (like other workspaces, we 're slowly filtering in with masks, strict hygeine rules, distancing, and a cap of 50% occupancy). We're still relying upon MSTeams because of travel restrictions and because some teammates are still at home. However, with those in the office sitting 12' away from each other, those speaking are hearing an echo of their own voice through other peoples mics (a tiny

MakeHaven's reason for existence is to empower people through access to tools and learning, thereby affording them opportunities that otherwise would not be available. We are committed to having a membership that reflects all of the communities MakeHaven serves; one of the guiding principles of the organization is: “Our makerspace community is stronger when everyone is meaningfully involved and represented”. We believe that there is a strong alignment between MakeHaven’s organizational aspirations and the current movement calling for opportunity to be more fairly distributed.  However, at

If you're working at home (I feel lucky to be doing so...some people aren't lucky enough to be working at home or to be working at all) this 30-60-90 degree cradle can make it easier to manage a phone next to a laptop during video conferencing. The double notch allows portrait or landscape orientation and it should be sized to hold your wetsuited phone snug. Flip it over if you'd like a more dramatic view of your nostrils. Made with 5/4 pine but anything thick enough to not tip over will do fine.

On the subject of tipping over...

A later edit for more stability.