Area High School Girls Will Explore High-Tech Careers as part of Annual “Design Your Future Day” Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

More than 200 10th and 11th grade girls from the Capital Region, New York state, and across New England will participate in the “Design Your Future Day” (DYFD) program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, April 16. The annual event is designed to engage students in activities to inform and excite them about degree programs and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.

“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2010 women comprised 47 percent of the civilian labor force that is 20 years old or older,” said Barbara Ruel, director of Diversity and Women in Engineering Programs at Rensselaer, and program director of the day’s events. “Yet the most current data from the National Science Foundation indicates that  in 2006 only 12 percent of all engineers in the labor force were women.

“Rensselaer is working to change that,” Ruel added. “Design Your Future Day gives young women the opportunity to explore intellectually stimulating and exciting degrees and careers in math, science, technology, and engineering and to meet young women like them who have already chosen to pursue such careers.”

Participating local high schools include Albany, Bethlehem Central, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Columbia, Emma Willard, Glens Falls, Guilderland, Hudson Falls, Lansingburgh, Middletown, Schenectady, Schuylerville, Scotia-Glenville, and Troy.  Sixty-eight percent of the visiting students are from the state of New York, including Saranac Lake and Utica.  The remaining 32 percent are from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

The event will take place from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Darrin Communications Center and other campus locations. The event is hosted and sponsored by Rensselaer’s School of Engineering. Additional sponsors include Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems.

The 15th annual program will kick off with a welcome address by Laura Wontrop, Class of 2008, an advanced operations engineer for General Motors. Following graduation, Wontrop began working for General Motors, where her first assignment was to present customer needs to global program development teams.  She is currently working on a temporary assignment where she meets with teams from across the world to gather data to develop a computer model that would be capable of determining the number of employees optimally required to produce all GM vehicles.

While at Rensselaer, Wontrop was the first female undergraduate to lead a student team from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to design, build, and race a formula-styled race car in competition. She also raised $30,000 for her team to compete against 120 other universities to earn a top 10 finish in Michigan and a top 20 finish in California.

Wontrop is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Michigan in the Global Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering program.  In her free time, she participates in high-performance driving events and enjoys exploring Michigan’s natural and historical resources. Wontrop will share her personal stories and aspirations, and the lessons learned in college and after college about excellence, leadership, and persistence.

The program will also feature a panel discussion by undergraduate scholars, and 14 workshops led by Rensselaer undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff. They include: materials science and engineering; lighting; embedded control systems; the design, manufacture, and use of medical devices, prosthetic limbs, tissues, and organs; art and games with computer animation; nuclear engineering; intellectual property and patent law; and manufacturing.

The program provides a parallel schedule for parents, and includes an interactive discussion with representatives from Admissions and Financial Aid, the Center for Career and Professional Development, the Office of the First-Year Experience, the Dean of Students Office, and Residence Life. During these sessions, parents will learn about high-tech careers, the changing college classroom, and the importance of encouraging students to consider STEM careers.

Since its inception, more than 3,000 female students have participated in the Design Your Future Day program. In addition, Rensselaer graduates have gone on to pursue careers as product design engineers, systems design engineers, business analysts and consultants, mechanical and aeronautical engineers, medical researchers, biomedical device engineers, doctors, patent attorneys, architects, and Naval officers.

Design Your Future Day is part of Rensselaer’s larger effort to engage young people in science and engineering studies and professions. Other “pipeline” programs include: Black Family Technology Awareness Day, to interest area young people and their families in pursuing occupations in the fields of science and engineering; and Exploring Engineering Day, to spark the interest of scouts and other children, ages 9 to 12, in STEM disciplines.

Sample Design Your Future Day workshops that will be offered from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., and from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.:

* It’s Hot Being Nano: Jonsson Engineering Center, room 3207

Students will explore the exciting field of nanomaterials. During the session, the group will talk about heat at the nano-scale level and what supercomputers and cancer have in common. Students will also heat up particles of different sizes and determine which are the hottest.

* Engineering at Rensselaer is Sweet: Advanced Manufacturing Lab, CII 1027

Students will learn how to assemble a box of candy in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab and learn the different processes including robotics and automation, plastic injection molding, 3-D printing, and water-jet cutting.

* Go Bananas Over Nuclear:  Low Center, room 3051 and 3045

More than 20 percent of the U.S. energy supply is nuclear. Students will learn about surprising natural radiation sources and nuclear systems that power our lives with zero green house gas emissions.

* The Body Bag: Sage, room 2112

Students will explore how medical devices, prosthetic limbs, tissues, and organs are designed, manufactured, and used with the help of interactive anatomy software and models.

* Uncovering the Secrets of Lighting: Jonsson Engineering Center, room 4201

Through interactive experiments and demonstrations, students will see the surprising ways that we use light in our lives. Students will also learn how engineers and scientists are exploring new ways in which the colorful world of light can impact our health, happiness, and safety while saving energy and protecting the environment.

* Whodunit? The Chemistry of Crime Scenes, Walker Laboratory, room 5113

Can you crack the crime? Students will learn how forensic chemistry is used to help solve crimes by gathering and analyzing evidence from a simulated classroom crime scene.

* What’s in Your Water: Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Bruggeman Conference Center

Students will study the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, the agent of the disease cholera, and learn how the bacteria can   spread from aquatic environments to the human population.

* Materials Science & Nanotechnology: Walker Laboratory, room 6213 and 6113

Students will explore the exciting field of nanomaterials to see why size matters and how it affects our lives. Students will also participate in hands-on experiments that will show how nanomaterials are used for different applications, including drug delivery and painting. A final experiment will examine the similarities between nanoparticles, gemstones, and ice cream.

For more information and to view the 2011 Design Your Future Day program, go to: http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dyfd/.

Contact: Jessica Otitigbe
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: otitij@rpi.edu