High school students get hands-on look at engineering

This was summer camp with a definite engineering twist. Twenty-two high school juniors and seniors got acquainted with the field last summer at the college's Engineering Summer Program (ESP) for High School Students of Color. The students, who are from across the United States, get intensive exposure to college-level science, math and engineering courses. Days are filled with classes in computer science, chemistry, pre-calculus and technical writing. It's a challenging course of study for a good reason, says ESP director Alem Asres, assistant dean for diversity. "We like to prepare students for college life, for science and technology, so they can fit into the work world, ready to carry on the task assigned to them. Many high school students aren't really prepared to take on college without some intervention. Many will not be prepared to enter into engineering study. This program effectively addresses that need." A new feature of the program this year was a twice-weekly lecture/lab series which included hands-on theory and practice. The labs gave the students an idea of the engineering field's diversity. Left, ESP participants work with Professor Douglass L. Henderson, standing, to build a heat-sensing circuit in an electrical and computer engineering laboratory. The students are (left to right) James Derick Larry, Terrence D. Hooks, Nicole Mari Jones, and Damilola Ayo Elegbede (40K JPG).

Engineering EXPO '97: The dreams of a new generation of engineers

How does the next generation of engineers envision the world? The public got a glimpse at the 23rd biennial Engineering EXPO held in April. The student-run event showcases recent developments in engineering and technology, and demonstrates how those developments can be applied to everyday life. 16,600 people from around the state, many of them elementary, middle and high school students, attended "Dreams by Design." Some of the most popular attractions were the student competitions, including contests for bridge building, model rocket launching and egg tossing. Another "high-traffic" destination was the Robot Triathlon, held in the Field House and featuring 38 remote controlled robots competing for more than $15,000 in prize money. At right, a giant LEGO® playland in the lobby of the Mechanical Engineering Building was a "can't miss" attraction (47K JPG). Youngsters refined their construction engineering skills in a roped-off area filled with tens of thousands of the plastic snap-together blocks. EXPO '97 also featured more than 90 student and industry exhibits on a plethora of topics. Examples include a bicycle frame-building demonstration, a human-powered pick-up truck, a concrete canoe, geothermal hot chocolate, and live images from an electron microscope.