There were no caps and gowns in sight, but Base 11 and UCI held a graduation of sorts, honoring students who completed either the academic year internship or STEM Entrepreneur program at UCI — and one who completed both! Surrounded by proud parents, college faculty, potential investors and future employers, students from as far away as San Diego and Los Angeles made their final presentations on May 24 at UCI Applied Innovation at the Cove.

Robert Alsobrook (right) of  Grossmont College and David Tran of Orange Coast College shared a prototype of the invention they built in Base 11’s STEM Entrepreneur course at UCI.  It’s an atmospheric water generator that can help people in drought-stricken areas, and the team has started the process to patent their technology. “My commute to get to the program was about 4 hours round trip, and every minute of the drive was worth it,” said Alsobrook.

Students in Base 11’s academic year internship at UCI learned to program Raspberry Pi mini-computers, like the one East Los Angeles College student  Guowei Yang displayed at the event.

Santa Monica College student Maria Hernandez displayed her project which uses facial recognition technology to send a notification to her smartphone about who’s at the door, and enable her to unlock the door remotely. ““This experience gave me more confidence,” she said.” I never felt like I was that at the same level as everyone else, but now I feel like I’m on the same playing field.”

David Jung of East Los Angeles College presented his final project to the crowd, and shared his enthusiasm for 3D printing, which he learned through the Base 11 academic year internship at UCI. “What this program did was really get me to express my creative side,” he said. “I can bring whatever I imagine to life on a 3D printer.”

Guests got a sneak peek of the newly installed Base 11 Innovation Center, which features a Fab Lab, housed at UCI Applied Innovation at the Cove. Lab technician Monica Kim (center) explained how to use the technology in the facility, including 3d printers and lasercutters

Learn more about Base 11’s academic year internship or STEM Entrepreneur program.