Ashton McCain (left) of Houston, Texas, Emily Foll of Wooster, Ohio, and Taya Andrews (right) of Green, Ohio engineer a device to safely remove foreign objects from the ear, modeled using a clay pot and PVC piping. The team of students worked together to construct a device that can remove small pebbles from the model ear. McCain attends Memorial High School in Houston, Texas, Foll attends Triway High School in Wooster, Ohio, and Andrews attends Green High School.
This hands-on activity was led by Dr. Jim Keszenheimer, senior design lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
What’s a day in the life of an engineer really like? High school girls are getting a peek this week at The University of Akron’s Summer Experience in Engineering.
Morgan Atkinson (left) of Huber Heights, Ohio and Abagail Collins of Hudson, Ohio work together to design a device to clear a pathway in a clogged artery using a plastic tube model filled with frosting to represent plaque buildup. Atkinson attends Wayne High School in Huber Heights and Collins attends Our Lady of the Elms in Akron, Ohio.
The clogged artery simulation activity was led by Dr. Carin Helfer, a senior research scientist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
The weeklong camp engages participants in faculty-led morning activities such as programming three-dimensional LED cubes and designing a medical device to clear clogged arteries. Campers also are touring local companies where they are meeting and learning about biomedical, civil, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers in their various roles. At the end of the week, the campers — grouped into teams — will compete against one another with engineering design and research projects on which they have worked throughout the week.
“The camp is a great way for young women to get a taste of what engineering is like and to discover that engineers are nothing like the stereotype. Engineering requires teamwork and creativity,” says Dr. Joan Carletta, UA professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Carletta says that, often, high school students are steered toward engineering simply because they excel at math or science.
“This camp gives them a chance to see all the ways engineers use that math and science to make the world a better place,” Carletta says.
Next week, Multiply Your Options (MYO), an engineering summer camp for middle school girls, will take place on the UA campus. MYO is sponsored by Dominion and PPG Industries and SEE UA is sponsored by ALCOA Foundation with support from Dominion and PPG Industries.
Both camps are presented by the College of Engineering’s Women in Engineering Program and directed by Heidi Cressman.
Media contact: Denise Henry, henryd@uakron.edu, 330-972-6477