Science-focused students have a new social network.
Three UF students launched STEMd.com, a Facebook-esque social medium for science, on March 22. There are currently 148 users.
STEM’d is short for science, technology, engineering, mathematics and design.
Devin Morgenstern, Kevin Lin and Daniel Urban, the site’s creators, said its mantra is “learn, collaborate and innovate.” They expect STEM’d to buzz with scientific discussion.
“We were sick of going on Facebook and other social media and wasting time,” said Urban, a UF mechanical engineering senior. “STEM’d was created by scientists for scientists.”
Urban, 22, said it took six months and $7,000 to build the STEM’d brand, including its website.
“We really want to bridge the gap for scientific knowledge,” Urban said. “There is a huge gap.”
Lin, a 22-year-old UF chemical engineering senior, said team members want STEMd.com to be a platform for tackling big issues like food production, alternative energy, and biomedical techniques that could cure diseases.
Lin said the site is off to a good start, but they will need help from coders for further improvements.
“I really want this thing to succeed,” Lin said, “because we honestly believe that if we could provide a place for people to learn more and to work together, we could change the world.”
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 3/30/2015 under the headline “Gators launch science-based social network”]
