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K-State Today

July 31, 2012

Teachers explore opportunities to bring engineering applications to the classroom

Submitted by Mary Rankin

The Engineering Education Experience summer workshop introduced Kansas teachers to careers in engineering while providing information and materials for K-12 curricula. The three-day event, administered by Bette Grauer, assistant dean of retention, diversity and inclusion in the College of Engineering, presented sessions and activities aimed at developing student interest in engineering.

 

Two workshops, May 30-June 1 on the K-State campus and June 20-22 at the CAPS Center in Overland Park, were led by K-State engineering faculty and students. Topics explored included alternative energy and power, biological and environmental engineering, nanomaterials and nanotechnology, as well as discussions on the need for more engineers in the state.

 

Thirty-four teachers from 21 school districts took part in the Manhattan workshop, and 31 teachers from 12 school districts participated in Overland Park.

 

The Engineering Education Experience workshop was developed in response to the University Engineering Initiative Act, whereby the Kansas Legislature is funding matching dollars for the state’s three engineering schools with a goal of increasing the number of engineering graduates by nearly 60 percent over the next 10 years.

 

For more on the Engineering Education Experience, or E3, program, visit http://www.engg.ksu.edu/rdi/.