Challenges and Benefits of Introducing a Science and Engineering Fair in High-Needs Schools (Work in Progress)

Mary Lou Ewald is the Director of Outreach for the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University. She is also the Co-PI for AU-AMSTI and the Director of the AU Science in Motion program. Prior to her current position, she served as a Science in Motion physics specialist and an Instructor of general biology courses at Auburn University. For the past 15 years, Ms. Ewald has specialized in K-12 educational program development and implementation and currently oversees an outreach staff that delivers over twenty STEM-based student programs annually, including BEST Robotics, Science Olympiad, Greater East Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair, Summer Science Institute, Auburn Mathematical Puzzle Challenge, AU Explore, and Science Matters. In recent years, she has focused her K-12 efforts on working with STEM faculty to create teacher professional development opportunities related to project-based learning in middle and high school classrooms. Her academic training includes a B.S. in Physics and an M.S. in Biology, both from Auburn University.