Orientation is over, but some special camps that give students from elementary through high school an up-close look at the exciting things engineers can do have just begun. Thanks to innovative programming and the diligent efforts of faculty and staff, many of these participants will one day be students in the College of Engineering.
Camille Schroeder, program coordinator in the Office of Engineering Undergraduate Programs, has two graduate and three undergraduate assistants who help her run day camps especially designed with hands-on activities for 3rd- through 8th-graders. Three separate two-day camps are being offered. Schroeder says the goal is to provide age-appropriate activities that will engage the students and get them excited to learn about engineering.
Twenty-two youth participated in the beginner camp last week, and registrations continue to come in for this week’s intermediate camp. A FIRST LEGO League (FLL) camp will be held on campus August 15 and 16 for young engineers who are either on an FLL team or will have a registered team for the 2005 Ocean Odyssey challenge.
The three Engineering and Beyond workshops scheduled for July will bring a total of 150 high school seniors to campus. Coordinated by the Engineering Office of Outreach and Recruitment, the three-day workshops are designed to introduce students to all of the engineering majors and recruit them to come to Iowa State. The program has been very successful, with from 45% to 55% of participants typically enrolling in engineering here. About 60 faculty and staff representing each of the academic and service units are involved in the workshops. Five current engineering students serve as counselors and will live with the students in Martin Hall. Of this year’s 150 registrants, 26% are female, 7% are minority, and 30% are from out of state.
Just 10 more days until the 2,500-mile North American Solar Challenge starts in Austin, Texas. Team PrISUm leaves this Saturday for Texas. The race begins July 17 and will end in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on July 27. Stay abreast of the team’s progress by visiting www.eng.iastate.edu/ for a firsthand account of the race.
The Department of Chemical Engineering officially became the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) on July 1. In addition, their new homepage, designed to follow the university and college format, makes a strong marketing statement for the department.
Be sure also to visit the new College of Engineering homepage on a regular basis for the latest in news releases, college features, and links to news articles. To offer suggestions of people or subjects that would make good feature articles or news releases, please send a note to mglanvil@iastate.edu.
