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What did an engineering student and professor make with a 3-D printer to help blind students?

Answer: a map

Rutgers University engineering undergraduate Jason Kim and his professor, Howon Lee, used a 3-D printer to create maps that would help visitors with visual impairments navigate the university’s Joseph Kohn Training Center. Lee said he got the idea after visiting the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, one of South Korea’s leading universities.

“It was a very fulfilling experience,” Kim said. “I learned a lot. The most difficult part was trying to imagine what it would be like to be blind myself so I could better tackle the problem, and it opened my eyes to the whole visually impaired and blind community.”

The Joseph Kohn Training Center offers New Jersey residents with visual impairments a free 20-week training program that teaches skills related to finding jobs, attending college or becoming independent homemakers.

Lee said he hopes to make maps of the entire campus so that students and visitors with visual impairments can enjoy greater freedom and the campus without worrying too much.