Un Sabado Gigante in Engineering
Each November
Annually, the Cockrell School’s Equal Opportunity in Engineering (EOE) Program co-hosts Un Sabado Gigante in Engineering. Created with Hispanic professional organizations around Austin, this event is in its fifth year of introducing 500-plus Austin-area middle school students to engineering through a day of hands-on activities and personal contact with professional engineers. EOE also educates parents on the advantages of encouraging students to attend college.
Central Texas FIRST LEGO League
Each December
FIRST LEGO League International teams across the world receive a new challenge each September and then strategize, design, build, program, test and refine a fully autonomous robot capable of completing various missions using the LEGO MINDSTORMS technology. The elementary and middle school teams also search the Web, talk to scientists, visit the library and develop compelling presentations related to a problem or opportunity facing the world today.
Edison Lecture Series
January 10, 2008
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s annual Edison Lecture Series introduces high school and middle school students to practicing engineers via an informative and interactive set of lectures on campus. The Edison Lecture Series has reached more than 15,000 students with engineering topics including communication technology, microprocessors and renewable energy.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
February 23, 2008
During the Cockrell School’s Women in Engineering annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, or Girl Day, more than 1,000 students as young as six descend on the UT campus to participate in hands-on engineering activities; meet students, professors and practicing engineers; explore discovery booths; and see what it’s like to be an engineer.
Design Technology and Engineering for America’s Children (DTEACh)
June 2008
Drs. Rich Crawford and Kris Wood, professors of mechanical engineering and co-founders of DTEACh, have helped hundreds of educators discover new hands-on approaches to learning that make science and math more accessible to students. The professors first developed an elementary school curriculum integrating engineering concepts, then they adapted it to classrooms from elementary through graduate school. DTEACh summer institutes also provide continuing education credits to teachers.
LEGO MINDSTORMS Mania!
May 2008
Each year hundreds of elementary and middle school students from the Austin area demonstrate their robotic achievements for the public at LEGO MINDSTORMS Mania! Dozens of robots play golf on miniature putting greens, serve as rides in miniature carnivals and perform other imaginative tasks. With assistance from Central Texas teachers and professional engineers, these young people show what’s possible when engineering design principles are integrated into classroom curricula.
Student Engineers Educating Kids (SEEK)
Throughout the school year
Cockrell School students in SEEK lead middle school classroom projects like assembling robots, launching rockets and constructing model bridges. SEEK mentors also provide positive, one-on-one academic and social support to help young people develop clearer goals and better learning skills. “Student engineers in the SEEK Program exemplify the principle of using their education to serve humanity,” notes faculty advisor Dr. Phil Schmidt.
Central Texas STEM academies
Year-round
Generous funding from the Dell, Gates and National Instruments Foundations, combined with federal funds, allows the Texas STEM project, or T-STEM, to funnel more than $71 million into developing and testing a variety of approaches to high school STEM education. T-STEM currently funds 35 STEM academies and a half-dozen STEM centers to support them. The Cockrell School is a partner in the Central Texas T-STEM center.
Lighting the Spark: Programs for Students
Making engineering exciting and accessible to kids, the Cockrell School does its part to encourage the next generation of engineers →
Alumni Making a Difference: From the Classroom to the Boardroom
Cockrell School alumni address engineering workforce concerns at every level →