NEWS
COES hosts nearly 600 high school students for Engineering and Science Day
The College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University hosted nearly 600 students from 21 Louisiana and Arkansas high schools for its Engineering and Science Day 2014.
Engineering and Science Day 2014 introduced prospective students to engineering and science at Louisiana Tech and featured a presentation by Lana Fountain Flakes, director of emerging initiatives for the Society of Women Engineers and a Louisiana Tech biomedical engineering graduate.
The annual event is coordinated by the Louisiana Tech Engineers and Scientists Association (LTESA), a student organization within the College of Engineering and Science. More than 100 students contributed to designing and leading activities to help visitors get a better grasp of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) principles. The LTESA students gave the attendees lab tours and led engineering and science demonstrations.
Dr. Hisham Hegab, interim dean of the College of Engineering and Science, believes the Engineering and Science Day activities and speakers provided both current and potential students with some unique and exciting STEM experiences.
“Engineering and Science Day is great opportunity for our students to showcase their major and share the many exciting and fun opportunities there are in pursuing a STEM career,” said Hegab. “The keynote address by Lana Fountain Flake was inspiring. She is a great role model of how a STEM degree can provide students the foundation to go anywhere they would like to go in life.”
In addition to the lab tours and demonstrations, guests were also offered the opportunity to participate in the annual Society of Women Engineers team design competition. Student teams built towers designed to hold eggs using wooden dowels, plastic plates, and other common materials, and competed against each other to knock the towers down. The team whose tower remained standing and whose egg was the farthest from the top of the tower is declared the winner.
“We had nearly 600 high school students from the region on our campus to learn about the career opportunities in engineering and science,” said Dr. Jenna Carpenter, associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering and Science. “We are pleased that the outstanding curricula, faculty and opportunities at Louisiana Tech continue to attract the best students in the region.” Written by Brandy McKnight – mcknight@latech.edu