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Layers of Inspiration

In recent years, an exhibit of 120 life-size, 3D-printed, orange statues of women who excel in STEM fields traveled to several cities, including Washington, D.C., where the Smithsonian displayed them at its gardens and museums.

"#IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit" honors real-life trailblazers to inspire girls and women who might be tomorrow's pioneers.

Now two of the statues—of CWRU engineering alums Xyla Foxlin (CWR '19) and Nicole Sharp (CWR '06)—have a long-term home at the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box], CWRU's innovation hub. They stand near scanners and 3D printers, the kind of equipment used to create the statues layer by layer from acrylic gel.

"I was super excited to have mine go to Case Western Reserve," said Sharp, PhD, an aerospace engineer whose work includes blogging about fluid dynamics. "It could help somebody feel that sense of connection [to STEM professions] I lacked growing up in northwest Arkansas."

For Foxlin—who has a YouTube channel teaching the basics of engineering and fabrication as she builds everything from campers to boats to rockets—the placement evokes personal ties.

"think[box] was the launching point of my career in almost every way," she said.

Lyda Hill Philanthropies designed the exhibit, selecting the women highlighted with the American Association for the Advancement of Science to increase the ranks of women in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] field.