A Precollege Engineering And Science Summer Program

The Calumet region (East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, and neighboring parts of Northwest Indiana and Illinois) has a very large minority student population with a low rate of enrollment in post-secondary education. The objective of this program, started in 1991, is to demonstrate to these students that there are excellent job opportunities in engineering and science where graduates can earn a good living while doing work they enjoy with interesting people. The focus is on a five-week summer program for students entering grades 8 or 9, with follow-up activities for two succeeding summers (funds permitting). The key feature is the structure, which ties science, math, and applications together; thus topics are chosen so that the participants see the importance of math as a basic tool, and its application to engineering and science. The mornings are primarily lecture/discussion/demonstration; the afternoons are hands on sessions (laboratory and computer) or industrial tours. This is an enrichment program, not a remedial program.