outreach

Engineering Summer Camps

Our Summer Engineering Exploration Camps were developed to encourage middle school and high school students (ages 12 -17) to participate in week-long summer camps to build and explore everything from mousetrap powered cars to earthquakes, bridges and robotics. Our Monday-Friday day camps provide young students with a glimpse into their future as engineering students, and access to support that will help make their entry into our programs a success. Thanks to support from the Hewlett Foundation, Hawkins Foundation, Harley Davidson Financial Services, and several federal grants (NSF, DOE, EPA, NASA).

We have expanded to two Intro Camps (at the University and Western Nevada College) and five subject camps during June and July. In addition to promoting the camps to students in all the Washoe County public, private and charter schools, our donors offer financial aid and scholarships for students with an aptitude for math and science associated with community organizations such as: Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boys & Girls Club and the Reno Housing Authority.

Mobile Engineering Education Laboratory (ME2L)

Our Mobile Engineering Education Lab (commonly known at ME2L) has visited hundreds of local public, private, and charter classrooms K-8 classrooms since its inception in 1997. Professionals in our community, many prior UNR engineering graduates, along with current UNR engineering students present lessons which connect engineering applications with the national science standards. Bringing our UNR students into the classroom not only allows them practice in presenting engineering concepts to non-technical audiences, it also allows younger students to see and talk with role models who can share this exciting field of study and career path.

More information:

ME2L Information for Teachers and Principals (PDF)

2007 Research Experience for Undergraduates Program

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) joined five other universities as host sites for 2007's Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Program. Four junior to senior level undergraduate students from 4-year institutions were invited to explore earthquake studies at the biaxial shake table facility at the UNR large scale structures laboratory (LSSL). The 10-week REU program, funded by the National Science Foundation, gave students the opportunity to conduct state-of-the-art earthquake research under the supervision of a faculty advisor, network with students and graduate advisors from other universities, and present their work at a Young Researchers Symposium in Seattle, Washington. Read more

Earthquake Engineering Summer Camp

Under the direction of Dr. Sherif Elfass, middle school level children explored earthquakes, as they relate to structures. The camp introduced the students to seismology, soil liquefaction, earthquake design of structures including base isolation, and construction techniques. The five day camp encompassed lectures by engineering faculty, hands-on-activities, field trips, and presentation of a project of their choice. Guest speakers from the bridge and the geotechnical division of the Nevada Department of Transportation and a local structural firm familiarized the students with current industry design practices. During the week-long camp, the students manufactured both canoes made of lightweight concrete and construct bridges.
Read more