Pre-College Summer Engineering Course

Students are introduced to various engineering disciplines through a series of lectures, academic exercises, research assignments, guest lecturers, field trips and engineering projects. Through designing, building and testing projects, students will experience a wide range of engineering applications for a variety of engineering majors, such as: aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science.

Summer Engineering projects

Using simulation software and discrete electronic parts (digital signal processing), and a LEGO MindStorms NXT kit (programmable logic unit), students design and build a device which selects and adds color in the creation of a synthetic rubber compound (before the reactants are combined). The device also mechanically adds and mixes the selected color into the mixture.                      

Using balsawood, students design and build a bridge 2-lanes wide strong and durable enough to support a remote controlled car (that students design and build from a VEX robotics kit) driving across a distance of 4ft. The clearance under the bridge is 1ft.

Using a VEX robotics kit, students create a prosthetic, robotic arm that manipulates a paper cup (grab without crushing, move, lift, rotate).                          

Students design, build and launch a single stage model rocket from raw materials (students first learn about the components of rocket flight through experimentation and simulation).

Students design and build a snack machine that dispenses ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn. The snack machine offers choices of vanilla or unflavored ice cream, color or plain cotton candy and buttered or non buttered popcorn. Students design and build the logic, circuits, structure and mechanism of the machine.

Using simulation software and discrete electronic parts, students design and build a sensor control circuit which receives digital inputs emulating radiation levels, and uses digital logic to translate input signals to the output actions of illuminating the proper LED.

Using VEX robotics kit, students design a robot that autonomously gathers and retrieves soil samples for analysis, autonomously clears obstacles, levels a graded surface with user input.

Students design a water monitoring system that monitors water quality as its being delivered in real time, and transports acceptable water to distribution point and redirects contaminated water to collection point.

Using the LEGO NXT robot kit, students design and construct a robot that can follow a predetermined path to escape a building model. The robot that must sound an alarm (so people can locate it), turn on its light (to illuminate the path), and stop 3 times (to allow injured survivors to keep up).

Students design, build and fly a tethered motorized glider. (students first learn about the components of flight through experimentation and simulation).

 For more information, contact Larry Lim, Director Pre-College Programs