News Releases
WPI to Host Materials Science Camp for High School Students
For Immediate Release / May 09, 2008
Contact:
Lorraine U. Martinelle, News Writer, +1-508-831-6425, lurbans@wpi.edu
Eileen Brangan Mell, Director of Public Relations, +1-508-831-6785, ebmell@wpi.edu
What
Approximately 67 students from 11 high schools across New England will attend the 3rd annual ASM Materials Camp New England, which introduces high school students and teachers to hands-on learning about the role of materials in everyday life. The one-day camp is coordinated in part through Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Materials Science and Engineering program, which provides the labs for the camps. Eight learning stations, or modules, will be set up to help students learn the different areas of materials science. The stations are:
• Casting: Learn about a key manufacturing process in the metals industry; each student casts an aluminum part in a customized sand mold where they can write their initials or create a picture
• Heat Treatment/Mechanical Properties: Learn how the properties of materials change dramatically with heat treatment by treating and then breaking pieces of steel
• Microstructures: Develop an understanding of scale and what materials are made of, each student takes and prints a microstructure image
• Materials Identification: Learn simple ways in which materials can be identified and classified through a game show
• Musical Materials: Learn what materials can be found in speakers, instruments, etc.
• Glass & Ceramics: Learn the properties and uses glasses and ceramics
• Polymers: Learn the properties and uses of polymers. Each student injection creates a screwdriver by injection molding the handle
• Shape Memory Alloys: Learn what shape memory alloys are and how they work and get to see them in action
Who
Students attending the camp are from the following schools: Windham High School, Windham, Conn.; Blackstone Valley Technical High School; Upton, Mass.; Westborough High School, Westborough, Mass.; University High School of Science & Engineering, Hartford, Conn.; Grafton Memorial Senior High School, Grafton, Mass.; Londonderry High School, Londonderry, N.H.; Merrimack High School, Merrimack, N.H.; New Bedford High School, New Bedford, Mass.; Acton Boxborough Regional High School, Acton, Mass.; Oxford High School; Oxford, Mass.; and Classical High School, Providence, R.I.
Why
To introduce high school students to materials science and engineering, and to engage them in developing an interest in the fields as well as in general science and general engineering.
When
Monday, May 12: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, various on-campus locations, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, Mass.
More Information
http://asmcommunity.asminternational.org/portal/site/asm/Foundation/MaterialsCamp/
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. WPI's 18 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, management, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to the BA, BS, MS, ME, MBA, and PhD. WPI's world-class faculty work with students in a number of cutting-edge research areas, leading to breakthroughs and innovations in such fields as biotechnology, fuel cells, and information security, materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 20 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.