September 17, 2008
The College of Engineering will receive a $75,000 Innovation Generation grant from the Motorola Foundation in support of a program to introduce middle- and high-school teachers and students to innovative and inspiring engineering design concepts.
The Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation grant program seeks to spark students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and to help develop critical-thinking skills for the long term. Providing $4 million to K-12 programs across the United States in 2008, the initiative supports hands-on, innovative after-school programs, science and math clubs, teacher training and mentoring programs.
“MSU’s College of Engineering has been increasingly active in curriculum development, summer programs, and after-school, in-school and weekend robotics competitions during the past eight years,†said Drew Kim, assistant to the dean for recruitment and K-12 outreach in MSU’s College of Engineering. The Motorola Foundation grant will support MSU’s newest program -- Research Experience for Teachers -- which will immerse middle- and high-school teachers and students in engineering design projects, particularly during the college’s Design Days.
At the end of each fall and spring semester, middle- and high-school students and their teachers throughout Michigan are invited to the MSU campus to participate in the College of Engineering Design Days. More than 500 students typically attend. These students not only interact with MSU students and observe their research projects, but they participate in hands-on activities designed specifically for them. At the same time, their teachers are exposed to real-world research projects, which will improve their understanding of engineering concepts, thus helping them in their classroom teaching. Design Days activities include building a wireless thermometer and programming an autonomous robot using a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics kit.
“This experience will provide teachers with tools to inspire future students to pursue engineering degrees and excite our next generation of thinkers so they will consider studying engineering,†said Kim.
“By showing students the real-world applications of concepts they learn in the classroom, Innovation Generation programs open their eyes to possibilities,†said Eileen Sweeney, director of the Motorola Foundation. “Programs like MSU’s Research Experience for Teachers ultimately develop students’ confidence and skills to succeed in a sophisticated world and a dynamic and competitive global marketplace.
Last year, the College of Engineering received two Innovation Generation grants – one to fund Wireless Integrated MicroSystems for Teens (WIMS for Teens), a two-week summer residential program for 7th- to 9th-graders; and another that supported a Youth in Energy and Environment Humanitarian Project, which involved working with 5th- and 6th-graders at Lansing’s Woodcreek Magnet School to develop a solar-heated worm-based composting bin.
Since 2000, the Motorola Foundation has contributed more than $35 million to education initiatives with a focus on STEM.
For a complete list of grant recipients for 2008 or to learn more about Motorola’s Innovation Generation grant program, visit www.motorola.com/giving.
-- Laura Luptowski Seeley
