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K-12 Competition
Engineering has traditionally been viewed by many high school students
as having “something to do with motors and grease and engines”. Studies
indicate that a significant lack of information exists at the high
school level as to just what engineering is all about. This is a
contributing factor to the lack of interest in the field of engineering
by an increasing number of U.S. students. Studies indicate that
students (particularly young women and minorities) are attracted to
programs which involve service learning. To assist in disseminating
information to high schools about what engineering is all about, along
with providing service learning opportunities, an engineering
competition is proposed for students enrolled in grades 9-12. The event
would focus on engineering service learning with projects addressing
community needs either in: a) a local community, or b) on an
international level. Projects in local communities might include those
which benefit the elderly, energy projects, small scale infrastructure
projects, etc. At the international level, students may wish to design
solutions to problems which plague much of humanity. For
instance, given that nearly ˝ of the world’s population earns less than
$2/day at present (with estimates that 2/3 of the world will be earning
that amount in 25 years) the engineering fair seeks to engage and
encourage students to generate creative engineering solutions to
problems encountered by the poor of the world. In both scenarios, the
problems addressed should incorporate cultural conditions within the
project area (politics, history, economics, sociology, health,
religion), as well as the technical solution to a problem.
Entrepreneurship in the host community is highly stressed.
The proposed program may
be summarized as follows:
a)
Penn
State engineering students would make arrangements with host high school
mathematics and science teachers to make formal presentations to the
high school students. This presentation would highlight engineering as
a career and also detail the proposed design competition. These Penn
State students would serve as liaison between the student design team
and Penn State coordinating committee.
b)
Teachers at the local high schools would need to step forward to
champion the effort and serve as mentors to the design teams.
c)
Multidisciplinary design teams would be formed (1-3 students per team)
and would engage in the research and design a solution to a problem
identified by the team which might be considered as service-related and
of interest to them.
d)
A
formal presentation and demonstration would be made at a competition to
be held at Penn State – University Park. Ideally,
a working prototype would be demonstrated.
e)
This
is a pilot effort to determine the enthusiasm of students for such a
competition. Should this prove successful, it is planned that the
winners from this event would be eligible to compete in the Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair – competing for over $50,000
in cash awards and $500,000 worth of academic scholarships.
Other pertinent details:
Student
Audience: Teams of 1-3 students; grades 9-12.
Costs: A registration fee of $50 per team is
required. This fee would be reimbursed pending participation in the
competition. Funding for project materials would likewise be reimbursed
up to a maximum of $100 per team following successful presentation of
the design solution at the competition.
Overall Competition
Theme:
Humanitarian Engineering: Engaging
Students in the Community
Topic: Engineering
Solutions for the Disadvantaged
Location: University Park – Penn Stater Conference
Center
Incentives/Prizes: Winners will be eligible to enter the Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair at the Carnegie Science
Center in Pittsburgh. Anticipated awards at the Intel
fair exceed $50,000 in prize money and $500,000 in university
scholarships.
Teacher/Mentors: It is imperative that each team have a
teacher/mentor from their school. It would be advantageous to have a
team of teachers; science, mathematics, social studies, art, technical
education, etc. The team would also have an ECOS student mentor located
at University Park to provide assistance on their project. The student
mentor would serve to facilitate information gathering and resource
identification as well as serve to introduce the competition and project
to the students in their respective schools in an outreach effort.
Sponsors: Penn State Chapter of Engineers for a
Sustainable World
Penn State Women in Engineering
Penn State Diversity in Engineering
Penn State College of Engineering
Contact:
Dr. Thomas Colledge (thc100@psu.edu)
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