K-12 Outreach
KidTREC Summer Daycamp
Established in 2017, KidTREC provides an opportunity for rising sixth- and seventh-grade students to spend a week with engineering faculty and student ambassadors. Campers engage in hands-on activities such as experimenting with different soil types, learning about bridge design, programming autonomous Lego vehicles and demonstrating lock and dam models.
K-8 Maritime Education Modules to Engage Students (K8 MEMES) - a must see video from Gary Prinz
Since joining the U of A in 2014, Gary Prinz has been a significant member of the engineering faculty, mentoring numerous students and leading groundbreaking research projects. Alongside teaching, he also serves as the director of the Grady E. Harvell Civil Engineering Research and Education Center, a multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art research and teaching facility that opened on the U of A campus in July 2021. The National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program supported his research in 3D-printed steel optimization for structural use and for the STEMusic program, which uses music to teach scientific and engineering principles to grade-school children.
Bridging Art and Science with Local Students
Gary Prinz, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, and Adriane Hapgood, Music Teacher at Root Elementary School, created two songs to help communicate transportation engineering concepts to young people. Fifty fourth-grade students performed “Waterway Designs” set to the tune of “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton, and “Fatigue” set to the tune of “Happy” by Pharrel Williams.
STEM Academy Summer Program at Jackson State University
The STEM Academy Summer Program at Jackson State University introduces students in grades ninth through twelve to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students have access to short courses on robotics as well as program and design of automated vehicles. The academy is managed by the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.
Who Works the Rivers
University of New Orleans Transportation Institute partners annually with Riverworks Discovery for their career awareness program for high school students known as "Who Works the Rivers." The program is a one-day event which begins with an introductory lesson using content from the "Energy and Our Rivers Curriculum" developed by NEED corporation.
Mississippi Summer Transportation Institute
The Mississippi Summer Transportation Institute (MSTI) at Jackson State University aims at introducing pre-college students to the transportation industry.
