Summer Engineering Academy Camps of 2024, Tripled in Size, Left a Big Impact
The College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academy (SEA) was in full swing this summer at the University of Arizona. Wyant College of Optical Sciences shared the wonder of optics at four camps in June and July. Two camps focused on "Intro to Engineering" and hosted around 30-40 campers each. Another camp was specific to women in engineering and included 50 campers. The final camp was an advanced engineering summer camp split between Arizona's Wyant College of Optical Sciences and Electrical & Computer Engineering and included 30 campers. A total of about 150 high school students experienced the excitement of optical sciences this summer with the help and support of Arizona faculty, staff and students!
Read more about the SEA camps and how they tripled in size this summer! This summer was especially exciting with the support of Cori Dennis, College of Engineering Coordinator for High School Outreach and Summer Programs, who worked hard to obtain industry scholarships to support more students than ever before. Summer partners like Bosch, Intel and Caterpillar were integral to Dennis’ expansion goals, providing scholarships and facility tours. Cummings Aerospace also fully supported the middle school version of SEA. With their help, 100 young engineers from seven different states attended at no cost.
Optical Sciences SEA Summer Camps
SEA Summer Camps, coordinated by Hillary Mathis, Wyant College Lab Manager; took place in the Wyant College of Optical Sciences and helped make it an exciting summer for everyone involved. The "Intro to Engineering" camps included an "Optical Sciences Day," led by Brandon Chalifoux, assistant professor of optical sciences; and Mike Nofziger, professor of optical sciences. Topics included an intro to optics, a discussion of colors, and making pinhole cameras. The women in engineering camp was a forensic workshop-style camp where campers had to solve a crime by visiting multiple rooms with "evidence" that could only be evaluated using optics! By the end of the camp, the campers had solved the crime and identified the suspect! The advanced camp did activities focused on various Arduino projects and coding skills, culminating in the final project of making a hand-held infinity mirror that each camper took home.
A few of the campers shared their reactions to the camps. Adrian Bin, a senior from Riverside, CA, said “I didn’t expect how much this experience could offer in just a week, especially with all the counselors,” he said. “You really get guided in the right direction here.” Tucson high school junior, Xochitl Edgecombe, discovered a potential career. “I’ve learned so much I didn’t know before,” she said. “I grouped engineering as a whole, but now I know each engineer has their own job.” Thanks for joining us this summer SEA campers!
