Materials Camp Student Support 2003

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This proposal is to provide for participant support for high school students attending theMaterials Camp program during summer 2003. These camps are similar to the MaterialsCamp program funded in 2002 by NSF Engineering Division. The program provideshands-on learning in materials science and technology for high school students fromacross the U.S. In 2003 two Materials Camp programs are planned, each for 30 students.The two programs are to be held as follows:Materials Camp West, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, July 7 - 13, 2003Materials Camp East, Materials Park, OH, August 11 - 17, 2003The curriculum of the camps includes engineering applications of metals, ceramics,polymers, composites and biomaterials. Students experience learning using both setlaboratory experiments and a team project in which they explore structure-property-processing-applications relationships in materials as related to engineering systems.Everyday materials systems are the foundation of the program, building to moreadvanced applications. Professional society volunteers work with each team of fivestudents to ensure real learning and motivation. The camp concludes with projectpresentations by the students to a professional audience.The expected outcome of this project are a set of 60 students who are moreknowledgeable of engineering and engineering applications, with specific experience inthe area of materials. Our evaluation of previous camps is very positive in convincingstudents to consider and enroll in engineering in college. Thus our expectation is that wewill be able to focus students on the advantages of engineering studies and thus increaseengineering enrollments, not just among the students who attend but among their peers aswell.The intellectual merit of this proposal relates to the knowledge that these student willlearn. The students who attend the camp are generally the better students in a highschool. Most of them initially indicate that they are not interested in science orengineering, but rather other areas from art to social science to medicine. Using thefocused, hands-on approach of the camp program, our experience shows that theintellectual content of the camp excites them, thus broadening their thinking as to a careerand future study.The broader impact of the program provides these bright students with specificunderstanding of the potential of careers in engineering, provides a potential new set ofstudents for science and enginering study, thus increasing the pool of U.S. studentsinterested in science and engineering. It also serves to broaden student understanding ofthe field of materials, and demonstrates the centrality of materials to engineering andscience.