School of Science and Engineering Hosts Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day 2023
03/14/2023
The School of Science and Engineering hosted an Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event for local high school students on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The event is hosted annually to educate students about the opportunities in engineering and encourage more women to enter the profession. Nearly 100 students from 11 area schools participated in the day, which had been hosted virtually for the previous two years.
The day began in the Busch Student Center with a welcome from SSE Associate Dean Research and Innovation and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Jenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D.
Gorlewicz shared her own story to engineering, which she noted was not a direct path, and she encouraged students to embrace curiosity and follow their interests as they find their own career paths.
Following the welcome address, attendees began touring various engineering labs, escorted by current SSE student tour guides.
Tours visited SLU’s WATER Institute to learn about civil engineering and environmental work; SLU’s Center for Additive Manufacturing to explore 3D printing; the Collaborative Haptics, Robotics and Mechatronics (CHROME) Lab; Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Robotics Lab; Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering’s Wind Tunnel Lab; and Biomedical Engineering’s Soft Tissue Engineering Lab.
“Seeing the teachers' and students' vibrant interest as they engaged with not only the CHROME Lab projects, but the graduate student project leads, was very rewarding for us," said Jen Tennison, Ph.D., Lead Research Scientist and Manager of SLU’s CHROME Lab. "It was great seeing them pick up and interact with our tech prototypes — which can only happen in person. Holding the prototypes, poking and prodding, and seeing them in action made the students ask questions like, 'What kind of engineering do I need to know to make this? Where do I start?'”
Event attendees were then encouraged to challenge their own creativity and innovative skillets by working in teams on an innovation challenge. Groups were tasked with building marshmallow launchers under a time crunch and with minimal supplies of just tape, straws, Popsicle sticks, string and plastic bags.
Nearly all teams rose to the challenge and constructed a launcher in the time limit. The winning team launched a marshmallow well beyond the 15-foot goal marker.
After challenging their design and building skills, attendees were joined for lunch by current SSE students and faculty. SSE members shared their own experiences in engineering with the students and connected through small group discussion over the meal.
The day concluded with a keynote address from SLU aerospace engineering alum and Midwest Aerodynamics Test Operations Senior Manager for the Boeing Company, Jessica Rozycki.
Rozycki offered not just her own story in engineering, but the stories of several female peers that have built rewarding engineering careers in many disciplines of the field. Student participants were left with notes of encouragement to pursue a career that challenges and inspires them to conclude the day of exploration and mentorship on SLU’s campus.
"It was energizing to host the students in the WATER Institute labs for Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day," said Rachel Rimmerman, Director of Business and Outreach at SLU’s WATER Institute. "The students and educators alike were engaged in learning about paths in engineering and generally seemed excited about everything they got to experience throughout the day at SLU."
To learn more about outreach opportunities for high school students at the School of Science and Engineering, visit the school's website.