Strengthening the Bond Between East High School Students and Engineering

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ME PhD student Adam Hehr demonstrates tensile testing of composite material to a group of East High School students in the Smart Materials and Structures Lab.
East High School students recently tested their engineering know-how through some modeling at an engineering lab at Ohio State University. Adam Hehr, a Mechanical Engineering PhD student in Ohio State’s Smart Materials and Structures Lab, collaborated with a Columbus City Schools teacher to carry out a composite design project for pre-engineering students.  The activity required students to design a six-layer composite material using any three composite materials of their choice. Working in teams, they built their composites by gluing the materials together. They then tensile tested the composite material for strength and analyzed their sample results.  The activity was organized and executed by Hehr and Dion Drakeford, a pre-engineering teacher at East High School. The exercise, which is a component of Hehr’s National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship outreach effort, was constructed to help students better understand the mechanical properties of composite materials. One of the stated objectives of Hehr’s Fellowship is to engage those students who are traditionally underrepresented in engineering learning experiences.

The fifteen students who participated in the experiment, which took place in early December, were enthusiastic about the engineering design process lesson. Hehr anticipated that the students would walk away with an expanded understanding of typical engineering challenges and better comprehension of the knowledge and skills required of professional engineers. Because many high schools lack funds for such scientific assessments, the funds for Hehr’s outreach program were contributed by Ohio State’s Smart Materials and Structures Lab.  Hehr, who is advised by Professor Marcelo Dapino, considered the activity successful due in large measure to Drakeford’s openness to collaboration and interest in real-world engineering experiences for his students. 

In addition to witnessing and learning first-hand about the importance of tensile testing, the students met with Walter Green, manager of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student Machine Shop. Green volunteered his time to give the student’s a brief presentation and answer questions about the 3-D printing processes. Their visit to Ohio State timed well with current classroom lessons on 3-D solid modeling.
 
 
Category: Graduate