Austin Windsor, the robotics product manager for automation at HTE Technologies, talks to high school students in the UMSL Engineering Summer Camp about how to program a 6-axis collaborative robotic arm. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

A new scene greeted visitors in Benton Hall seemingly every time they peeked through the window to Room 428 last week at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

One time, they might have found a group of area high school students directing robotic arms as they programmed them to pick up and place weighted blocks on a conveyor belt.

The next, they could have seen the same students furiously folding, rolling and taping pieces of paper as they tried to build bridges big enough to span the gap between two desks and strong enough to support a jar of coins.

There were discussions of astronomy, biophysics and advanced manufacturing, an overview of how to develop the coding for a simple Super Mario Bros.-style game in Python, and a chance to test the virtual reality tools in the Geospatial Advanced Technology Lab – all of it part of the curriculum for the inaugural Engineering Summer Camp hosted by the new UMSL School of Engineering.

More than 30 high school students, nearly evenly divided among grades 9-12 and from more than 20 area high schools – a group that included Christian Brothers College, Kirkwood and McCluer as well as Ladue Horton Watkins, Parkway West and University City – attended the weeklong camp at UMSL. It aimed to engage students in interactive engineering-related experiences and get them more interested in educational and career opportunities to explore in the field.

Seth King, a homeschooled student from St. Peters, makes adjustments to his team’s paper bridge last Wednesday during a session on structural engineering at the UMSL Engineering Summer Camp. (Photo by Steve Walentik)

“These high school students are the future, so training them early and giving them exposure to engineering will really provide the workforce that we need to drive the regional economy,” said George Nnanna, a professor of mechanical engineering and the founding director of the UMSL School of Engineering. “Exposing them to various aspects of engineering will also enable them to select what type of engineer they want to be. And bringing in this hands-on experience and getting industry involved is critical so that they can see how to apply the math and science to solve engineering problems.”

Nnanna, Senior Director Carla Jordan, Recruitment Specialist Iriah Wilkerson and new Electrical Engineering Professor Xin Wang engaged other members of the UMSL faculty as well as practitioners from area firms such as HTE Technologies, Parsons Corporation, Terracon Inc. and AMICSTL – the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center in St. Louis – to help showcase the range of applications for and career paths in engineering.

“We want to inspire them to be curious,” said Austin Windsor, the robotics product manager for automation at HTE Technologies, who led Monday afternoon’s discussion of robotics and demonstration of how to program a 6-axis collaborative robotic arm. “That’s really it. The curiosity, at least from my experience, is what really pushes students into a career that they’re passionate about, that works for them and gets the wheels turning. That’s ultimately the important part, in my opinion.”

Windsor was in college when he was first introduced to robotics, but he said he’s been amazed by how much sooner students are getting exposure to robotics and other areas of engineering these days,

Hazelwood West High School student Jay’Lah Grady works on programing a 6 axis collaborative robotic arm last Monday in Benton Hall. Grady was one of more than 30 area high school students who attended the inaugural UMSL Engineering Summer Camp. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

Most of last week’s campers already had some experience. Rising juniors Jay’lah Grady and Alexis Wahome are part of a robotics club at Hazelwood West High School. Seth King, a 15-year-old home-schooled student from St. Peters, has been programming and working with 3D printing from a young age and is also part of a group called Aviation Explorers. Kai Patton traces her interest in engineering to a design and modeling class she took in seventh grade in University City. For Kelvin Boyd, a rising senior at the STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley, STEM has always been a focus of his high school classes, and he previously attended an engineering-focused camp at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

All of them came to last week’s camp eager to learn more.

“I love the innovation,” Grady said. “I love the communication and the teamwork. I love to think about cool things that you can build and make and help other people with.”

Nnanna and his colleagues succeeded in keeping the students engaged.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” said King, who was part of the winning team in the bridge design competition overseen by representatives from Parsons Corporation on Wednesday morning. “A lot of teens do not want to sit in a room for a long period of time, especially during the summer, and listen, so I think it’s great that there’s been a lot of hands-on activities.”

A highlight for many of the students was a Tuesday morning field trip to Boeing, where they met with a panel of engineers who described their work and then had a chance to tour the company museum.

Boyd also appreciated the interaction with the other students.

“It’s great just to be able to have people around you that want to do the same thing as you and have the same goals and want the same opportunities,” Boyd said. “It makes a difference.”

Nnanna has been hard at work since assuming his new position in April. He’s been recruiting new faculty members, engaging with local industry leaders and preparing to welcome the first cohort of students who’ll be starting classes in the UMSL School of Engineering this fall.

He’s hopeful he will see some of last week’s campers enrolling in the school in years to come.

“I want them to know that UMSL engineering is here and is going to offer a high-quality engineering program,” Nnanna said. “It will be the only public engineering school in eastern Missouri and will provide the socioeconomic mobility that is needed to move the community forward.”