Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers and Scientists Naima Rivas Undergraduate Researcher and Engineering Summer Camp Facilitator UT Arlington--Department of Electrical Engineering Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) July 5, 2012

Overview The Problem The Facts A Spark of Inspiration? Summer Camp at UTA Why do we care?

Here's What We Know: The United States needs to graduate more engineers to remain globally competitive ~30 years ago, US & China each graduated about 70,000 engineers Today, that number has declined in the US, but has increased ten-fold in China Asia has 21% of its students graduating in engineering, Europe has ~12%, the US has 4.5%

Here's What We Know: Today, nearly 60% of university graduates are women...only 1.5% of them engineers Steadily climbing minority population, but they only comprise 13% of engineering graduates We lose 50% of intended engineers in college

What inspires you?

What inspired me... watch?v=UXyYbQ0SmD Q

Engineering and Computer Science Summer Camps at UT Arlington Access, Bridge, Gateway, Entry, Girlgeneering Lab tours, collegiate lectures, field trips, group projects Opportunities to learn about Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, Civil, Biomedical, and Computer Science engineering

Residential Camp Schedule

Why bother with kids today? What our generation has witnessed:  The worst environmental disaster in history  The worst economic collapse in recent history  Increased cost of living, without increased standard of living And what we will face:  Global climate crisis  Global energy crisis  Increased healthcare demands  Increased demands on transportation infrastructure  A world with over 7 billion people

Why the Future Needs Us...

One Final Note... The Future Is Ours!

References Dr. Jean-Pierre Bardet, Dean of the College of Engineering at UT Arlington National Academy of Engineering: Engineering Summer Camp: The Future Is Ours, by Michael Marantz