High school students from the London area are getting their hands dirty by building up the skills they need to be a budding engineer.
The Western Engineering Summer Academy is well underway at the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Western Ontario. For four weeks, 110 students in Grades 9-12 will take part in the academy, which covers biomedical, software, structural and green engineering.
Grade 11 student Arielle Stirling tests the strength of the bridge deck, constructed out of corrugated fibre (cardboard) as Western Engineering Summer Academy participant Connor McComb, Grade 11, offers his shoulder for balance.
This is the first year the Western Engineering Summer Academy has been offered and co-ordinator Jennifer Hinton says it has been a tremendous success, with all four sessions filled. The program was funded by the Imperial Oil Foundation to increase awareness about opportunities in engineering.
“The opportunities for engineering in high school are limited,” says Hinton, a Western Engineering alumna, adding the academy also provides youth with university experience.
Students participate in labs, lectures, workshops and site tours throughout the week-long programs.
Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Mike Bartlett says it is important for students to get involved in the field at a young age to cultivate their interests.
“If we don’t get people at the high school level, we won’t have people getting into engineering,” he says, adding the academy is an opportunity to showcase possible careers in engineering.
Dan Grenier, a PhD student in structural engineering, assisted Bartlett with the Week 2 session which focused on how structural engineers analyze, design and construct structures for buildings, bridges, transmission towers and other infrastructure.
Using advanced building materials, such as fibre-reinforced composites and environmentally friendly concrete, students built bridges and egg protection devices. They put the structures to the test at the week’s end to see if their constructions held up under pressure.
Engineering is “a lot more fun than what people think it is,” says Grenier.
Western Engineering Summer Academy participants Nolan Ross and Dale McArthur work together to construct a bridge tower during the structural engineering session held July 27-31.
Grade 9 student Nolan Ross signed up for the Engineering Summer Academy to get a preview of what his future might look like.
“I want to be an engineer,” he says, adding learning how to construct a bridge tower is “fun.”
Likewise, Dale McArthur, a Grade 10 student, says engineering is “something I enjoy” and has learned a lot throughout the week.
“It is hands-on work, you can’t go wrong,” he says.
For more information about the Western Engineering Summer Academy visit www.eng.uwo.ca/academy.
Visit Flickr for more photos of the Western Engineering Summer Academy.