Published February 04, 2025
By Micaela Myers
Whether for senior design, K–12 or a startup, UW’s makerspaces offer state-of-the-art equipment to the people of Wyoming.
Each year, seniors in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences join together in groups and design projects for industry or for their own start-ups that teach them important real-life skills for the workforce. Those who have physical elements to their designs are aided by the University of Wyoming’s state-of-the-art makerspaces, which have now expanded to mobile units serving the state.
Senior Design
For their capstone project, engineering students take a yearlong senior design course.
“It gives them real-world experience and prepares them for working with others,” says Assistant Instructional Professor of Mechanical Engineering Levi Kirby. “People from industry will reach out to us and let us know about projects students could work on. We compile a list, and students get to choose.” Students also brainstorm their own projects.
Students form groups of three to eight. The first semester, they work through various iterations, plans and approaches. The second semester, they get hands-on creating the projects utilizing the college’s Innovation Wyrkshop makerspace. The makerspace offers equipment including 3D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, CNC routers and mills, advanced woodshop equipment, graphic design and 3D modeling software, sewing machines, woodshop tools and electronics benches for soldering and wiring.
Last year, the local company UplinkRobotics challenged one team to create a pipe inspection robot or drain drone. (Read more about UplinkRobotics.)
“The group had to go through quite a few different iterations where they were 3D printing the main body,” Kirby says. “They were able to utilize the Wyrkshop to fine-tune the actual design and also play with different materials to see which worked best given the overall constraints. We could not do the projects we do without the makerspaces.”
Makerspaces
The UW Laramie campus is home to two main makerspaces. First, located in the library, the Coe Student Innovation Center features 2,500 square feet that provides access to state-of-the-art emergent technology for creative, collaborative, innovative and entrepreneurial projects. Second, located in the Engineering Education and Research Building, the Innovation Wyrkshop offers 3,500 square feet of advanced-use makerspace with over $2 million in equipment, making it one of the largest makerspaces in the Mountain West. Both locations are open to students, faculty, staff and the public.
UW courses use the campus makerspaces, as well as hobbyists and businesses.
“We have a good mix of all of it going on in the space,” says Makerspace Manager Emily Leinen. “We have a lot of small businesses using this space.”
For example, a startup coffee company is making packaging using the Wyrkshop. About 17,000 people visit the Wyrkshop annually, and given its location near the engineering college, it’s well utilized for senior design projects.
“We have a lot of senior design students using the space, and Levi has done a fantastic job with utilizing the space with his classes and teaching students how to use the equipment,” Leinen says.
In addition to the two Laramie campus makerspaces, there are eight satellite makerspaces around Wyoming as well as a new fleet of mobile makerspaces. In 2022, startup funding from Gov. Mark Gordon’s Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) initiative helped launch the mobile makerspaces, which include crates, trailers and mobile workshops available to rural communities throughout Wyoming.
“Instructors from around the state can request units, and I deliver to them,” says Mobile Makerspace Coordinator Tom Johnson.
In the two years since launching, they’ve already engaged nearly 10,000 students.
“The Wyrkshop Mobile Makerspace program seeks to bridge the gap between rural and remote Wyoming communities and brick-and-mortar makerspaces,” Leinen says. “Students across Wyoming can earn cross-institutional credentials and get hands-on experience with cutting-edge STEAM technology and equipment in their own communities. Exposure to these makerspaces will help prepare students for future careers in STEAM fields, industry, community colleges and four-year universities.”
Visual arts faculty members Ashley Hope Carlisle and David Jones led the design and fabrication of the mobile spaces along with a team of students. “The goal is to engage students with electronics as well as craft and art-making materials and equipment,” she says.
Dillon Weiss of Jackson was a junior majoring in mechanical engineering when he helped with the spaces in 2022. Weiss took part in a robotics club in high school and knows firsthand how access to technology can change lives. “When I first saw a robot, it was like going to space for me,” he says. “Robotics is what inspired me to become an engineer. This could inspire other kids to become engineers.”
