In the News

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Christmas tree fire dangers explained

Do you know how quickly a Christmas tree can burn and what measures you can take to prevent this type of fire from happening in your home? Every year, WPI’s student chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers conducts a tree burn demonstration in a laboratory in the Department of Fire protection Engineering to educate students and the public on the dangers and dynamics of Christmas tree fires. The event highlights fire prevention and safety measures during the holiday season and highlights the hands-on learning opportunities available to students in WPI’s fire protection engineering program. 

Boston 25 News, the Telegram & Gazette, and Spectrum News 1 reported on this year’s demonstration which, for the first time, included an artificial tree in addition to a real tree. Also, don’t miss a replay of WPI’s live stream of the burn and our recap video which helps explain some of the lessons learned.

Watch the report from Boston 25 Read the report and watch a video from the Telegram & Gazette
Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange (EIX)
Toys with Wings: Creating Value through Collaborative Entrepreneurial Mindset Learning

Ahmet Can Sabuncu, assistant teaching professor, Mechanical Engineering; and students Jonathan Han and Natalia Han were featured in this article. This discusses Toys with Wings, an emerging learning and teaching experience in a junior-level Mechanical Engineering course at WPI where students develop an entrepreneurial mindset by using the Vygotsky Cycle – a learning theory that uses social interaction to strengthen comprehension -- to complement the engineering design process.