{"425731":{"#nid":"425731","#data":{"type":"news","title":"They are not roasting marshmellows at ASDL\u0027s STEP summer camp","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the 37 area high school students attending ASDL\u2019s STEP (Science Technology and Engineering Pipeline) camp, there will be no\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201cvinegar-and-baking-soda-does-what?\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;experiments this summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe open-ended problems they are tackling come from NASA and other real-world entities. And the answers they are finding come from hard work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The solutions are not in the back of the book,\u0022 says camp organizer, Dr. Kelly Griendling, an ASDL research engineer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022And the engineers supervising them might not have the particular expertise that\u0027s called for, so it\u0027s a lot of problem-solving, collaborating, and trying different things.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBrandon Ringfield, a Lithia Springs junior, has been working on this hybrid motor that he hopes to install in an UAV that his colleague, Austin Pettit is programming. The challenge, he says is to get the throtttle at the \u0022right place\u0022 so that the engine will start quickly and keep going.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFunded with grants from industry giants Lockheed and Boeing, STEP seeks to replicate both the challenge and the excitement faced by working engineers. That\u2019s a winning combination for the impatient curiosity of its campers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI didn\u2019t expect for it to get this real, this fast,\u201d said Brandon Ringfield, a soft-spoken junior from Lithia Springs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey are letting me buy materials and try things on my own. It\u2019s not like back at [high] school, where the teacher tells you how to do everything.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to learning some engineering fundamentals, students enrolled in STEP are learning how to collaborate, design, and execute \u2013 three skills every engineer needs to nail. They are testing materials, recording performance, and trying different strategies to make their projects successful.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd every project is different.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne team is programming a remote controlled boat; another is answering an asteroid capture challenge; two others are designing a hybrid powered UAV; another is building a quad rotor vehicle (to meet Army Research Lab specs) and the last one is comparing the performance of different rotor-engine combinations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is the first time that ASDL has organized the two-month engineering intensive Griendling says. That\u2019s meant a lot of work, she says, but the value is really obvious.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll of the students had to apply to be here -- put together a resume -- so they want to get something out of it,\u201d she said. \u0022\u0026nbsp;And when you see students like Brandon, zeroing in on the work, soaking up new information and skills all the time, you know it\u2019s building a good foundation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe camp will conclude at the beginning of August, when students present their findings. But the adventure will hopefully last a lot longer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027d like to see some of these kids come to Georgia Tech,\u0022 said Dr. Daniel Cooksey, another ASDL research engineer who is helping out on the project. \u201cAnd this camp is giving them something to imagine, to shoot for.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022center\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157645055366970\/\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EStudents enrolled in the ASDL\u0026nbsp;STEP\u0026nbsp;camp getting ready to deploy their remote-controlled boat on a test run. See more photos of their trial run in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157645055366970\/\u0022\u003Ethis slideshow.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;AE\u0027s IPLE\u0026nbsp;Lab also ran a very-well attended summer camp. Check out this\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157645375336362\/\u0022\u003Eslide show of the TEAM\u0026nbsp;Camp,\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;which brought together high school students at Georgia Tech with high school students from Detroit, MI.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For the 37 area high school students attending ASDL\u2019s STEP (Science Technology and Engineering Pipeline) camp, there will be no \u201cvinegar-and-baking-soda-does-what?\u201d experiments this summer."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-16 13:12:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:08","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"100921","name":"ASDL"},{"id":"171458","name":"STEP camp"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}