With the aim of getting more students interested in science, technology, engineering and math fields, University of Texas Permian Basin College of Engineering is hosting engineering camps.
This week, the UNITE camp is being put on and the XTO camp has middle school students.
“… UNITE is funded through the U.S. Army and the objective is to increase participation of the underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines,” Dean of the College of Engineering George Nnanna said.
There were a total of 57 students in both camps. Nnanna said there were 23 in the UNITE program from throughout the Permian Basin.
The age range is grades nine through 12.
“The purpose is to bring in females, students from military families, and as well the underrepresented groups, so the purpose is to expose them to various aspects of engineering as well as STEM. They are currently learning about the electrical engineering, understanding voltage, current, alternating current (and) voltage drops,” Nnanna said.
They have learned about many other aspects of engineering, as well.
Nnanna said 10 professors are presenting the lectures. The camp director is Mesut Yuiukcu.
“… The ultimate goal is to increase the pipeline for students that are going into engineering, as well,” Nnanna said.
He added that the campers could be his future engineering students.
“We tried to show them engineering can be fun, and it also can help society, so as they go through these four weeks of lectures, as well as experiential learning, they will be able to get the exposure of all the aspects of engineering,” Nnanna said.
He added that they are fortunate to have very dedicated and inquisitive students that are eager to learn.
“The selection process I think is well done because we’ve not had any issues and they have been highly focused. This program is being run by engineering professors, so we have 10 engineering professors dedicated to the program, and also one professor from biological science. Without these professors it will be difficult to execute the program,” Nnanna said.
The biology professor is presenting a perspective of STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and math.
“There is also a major in engineering called bioengineering, so it’s almost a combination of biology and engineering,” Nnanna said.
Zorian Henderson, 14, is going into 10th grade at OCTECHS, and Lorenzo Erazo, 13, is going into ninth grade at Early College High School at Midland College.
“It helped us learn more about engineering and deciding our future,” Henderson said.
She added that she was able to understand what the professors were presenting.
“Because most of it is like what we’ve learned from ninth grade year; the math is that easy …,” Henderson said.
She added that it takes someone else to help with some of the other math.
Henderson said she wouldn’t have met some of the students if she hadn’t gone to the camp and that what she’s learning will help her when she goes back to school in the fall.
“Now I know where I want to go with my majors, because I’m going to go ahead and graduate with my criminal justice degree and then go back and get a mechanical engineering degree,” Henderson said.
Erazo said he signed up for the camp for the hands-on experience and because he wants to be an engineer.
“And also my parents made me,” he said.
Erazo said the camp has been really fun so far.
“It’s a lot more fun than I expected it to be,” he added.
He added that it will help him when he goes back to school and he mostly understands what the professors are talking about.
They both enjoyed the elephant toothpaste.
“You have hydrogen peroxide and it slowly starts separating from the oxygen. So eventually it’ll just have water. And if you mix it with … potassium iodine, that makes it so the reaction happens faster …,” Erazo said.
“It’s like an explosion,” Henderson said. “You see the smoke and then it puffs out and you can do colors. You can make it the color you want …,” Henderson added.
Nnanna said they are grateful to the U.S. Army, XTO Energy and the College of Engineering for putting all of the programs together.
“… It’s a huge impact to the community,” Nnanna said.
