This past week, McNeese State University celebrated innovation, community partnerships and the unique contributions of faculty, staff and students with its first Innovate McNeese Week.

A series of activities, tours and demonstrations showcasing innovative projects were held throughout the week at the university’s Innovation Center, located in the SEED Center. To highlight the center, interactive sessions were offered to view technology available for student innovation projects such as 3-D printing, a 3-D doodler pen, Google Glass and 2-D animation.

Janet Woolman, executive director of economic development, said McNeese is one of only two universities in the nation to offer a minor in innovation that is open to all majors. Woolman said coursework and activities change the way students think, create ideas, collaborate and explore new concepts.

“The Innovation Center’s vision is to inspire meaningful creativity, encourage student exploration of new frontiers and stimulate economic development,” Woolman said. “Through coaching, technology and idea creation tools, students can collaborate with students from other disciplines to pioneer invention, prove and communicate a concept and create working prototypes, among other things.”

Lacie Petticrew, a junior studying agriculture, said she used the Innovation Center and the MakerBot Replicator recently for a project about the rhinoceros beetle. Petticrew said the technology allowed her to create an authentic prototype.

“I actually created this and was able to pass it around my class,” she said. “The printer created it layer by layer and built it right on up. It’s great for prototyping. It was really neat to use.”

Woolman said the Innovation Center is leading an effort to cultivate business creativity, innovation and invention in Southwest Louisiana. She said leading up to Innovate McNeese Week, students like Petticrew were able to work in teams with faculty members to use Google Glass and other technology.

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Online: http://seed.mcneese.edu/google-glass-stories.(Rick Hickman/American Press)