Dart Foundation - 2007 MSU Design Day

Engineering Program Hopes to "Jump-Start" Teens' Interests

by Derek Wallbank/Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING – Williamston seniors Erin Whitely and Erin Underwood, both 17, sat at a table, soldering iron in hand, while their futures changed.

Neither woke up Friday morning wanting to be an engineer – a field with a shortage of people in general and women in particular.

The two constructed a wireless integrated digital thermometer as part of the Dart Foundation Day of Innovation & Creativity for seventh–12th grade students, part of the MSU College of Engineering's Design Day.

"This is actually fun, and I want to do this," said Underwood.

"Watching it is cool, but actually making it and then watching it is cool," Whitely added.

Almost 200 students from eight high schools participated in the MSU College of Engineering's Design Day, which also included project presentations by current MSU students.

Whitely and Underwood's stories are exactly what the organizers of Design Day had been hoping for.

"The object is not to just have one day of learning, but to jump-start a long-term learning process," said Russ Pline, an Okemos teacher who helped coordinate the thermometer build.

Sexton and Eastern students participated in a project to try to build a wirelessly operated robotic fish that swims, senses nearby fish and takes the temperature of its environment.

"This is our first competition," said Sexton teacher Mark Barrera. "Many of these kids haven't done anything like this before."

Neither school finished their fish by Friday, though engineering professors applauded their efforts.

"This is hard for college students, let alone for high school students," said Drew Kim, an MSU professor who oversaw the robotic fish project. "I would definitely compare these guys who are presenting with anyone presenting at the college level."

At a pizza luncheon to end the day, Lansing students vowed to press on.

"We're almost done," said 15-year-old Eastern sophomore Michael Le said of the fish he and his friends have been working on after school for weeks.

"We're going to finish."

Design Day project: Williamston High School students Rhone Eppelheimer (left) and Dan Prevo (right) work with MSU graduate student Stephan Henneberger (center) on a wireless thermometer project Friday at Michigan State University, during the MSU College of Engineering's Design Day program.

(Photo by ROD SANFORD/Lansing State Journal)

About MSU Design Day

Programs included:

NEMO: Students were given a robotic fish that can sense the distance between itself and other fish, take the temperature of its environment and communicate with a laptop base station and other fish. They then had to build a new one.

Digital Thermometer Build: Students assembled wireless digital thermometers. Each participating school got to take home the thermometers their students built – at least six that retail at about $65 each – for use in future science projects.

Extras: Students toured projects completed by Michigan State University engineering students and participated in a question-and-answer session with current MSU honors students.

Several area high schools participated, including Charlotte, Laingsburg, Lansing Eastern, Lansing Sexton and Williamston. A similar event for middle school students was held Thursday.

Source: MSU College of Engineering