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Learning in Informal Environments through Engineering Activities through the Partnership with the Girl Scouts

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Conference

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Tampa, Florida

Publication Date

June 15, 2019

Start Date

June 15, 2019

End Date

June 19, 2019

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Technical Session 4

Tagged Division

Women in Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--33052

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/33052

Download Count

531

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Paper Authors

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Vukica M. Jovanovic Old Dominion University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-8626-903X

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Dr. Vukica Jovanovic is an Associate Professor of Engineering Technology in Mechanical Engineering Technology Program. She holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering Technology, focus on Digital Manufacturing. Her research is focused on mechatronics, digital manufacturing, digital thread, cyber physical systems, broadening participation, and engineering education. She is a Director of Mechatronics and Digital Manufacturing Lab at ODU and a lead of Area of Specialization Mechatronics Systems Design. She worked as a Visiting Researcher at Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Disputanta, VA on projects focusing on digital thread and cyber security of manufacturing systems. She has funded research in broadening participation efforts of underrepresented students in STEM funded by Office of Naval Research, focusing on mechatronic pathways. She is part of the ONR project related to the additive manufacturing training of active military. She is also part of the research team that leads the summer camp to nine graders that focus on broadening participation of underrepresented students into STEM (ODU BLAST).

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Otilia Popescu Old Dominion University

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Dr. Otilia Popescu received the Engineering Diploma and M.S. degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, and the PhD degree from Rutgers University, all in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research interests are in the general areas of communication systems, control theory, signal processing and engineering education. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and serves as the Program Director for the Electrical Engineering Technology Program. In the past she has worked for the University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at San Antonio, Rutgers University, and Politehnica University of Bucharest. She is a senior member of the IEEE, serves as associate editor for IEEE Communication Letters, and has served in the technical program committee for the IEEE ICC, WCNC, RWW, VTC, GLOBECOM, and CAMAD conferences.

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Carol L. Considine Old Dominion University

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Carol Considine is the Assistant Dean for Outreach for the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University (ODU) and an Associate Professor of Engineering Technology. She has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. She has fifteen years of industrial experience as an estimator and project manager and is a LEED AP BD+C. She is a member of the NIST Community Resilience Panel, Building and Facilities Committee, served as the Private Infrastructure Chair for the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project and is a member of the Resiliency Collaborative at ODU. Her research interests include engineering education, industry collaboration, sustainability and resiliency.

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Karina Arcaute Old Dominion University

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Dr. Karina Arcaute received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Chihuahua, and her MS (Mechanical Engineering) and PhD (Materials Science and Engineering) from the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Arcaute is an Assistant Professor in the Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.

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Stephanie G. Adams Old Dominion University

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Dr. Stephanie G. Adams is the Department Head and Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She previously served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University and was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Her research interests include: Teamwork, International Collaborations, Faculty Development, Quality Control/Management and Broadening Participation. She is an honor graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering, in 1988. In 1991 she was awarded the Master of Engineering degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. She received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1998. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the National Science Foundation's most prestigious, Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Engineering Education, holds membership in a number of organizations and presently serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Society of Black Engineers.

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Abstract

More affordable and portable robots have enabled easier access for outreach activities to happen in different environments. However, exposure to robotics often relies on seeing robots in action, such as industrial robotics and robots that are used for research purposes. Old Dominion University’s College of Engineering and Technology in Norfolk, Virginia recently signed a partnership agreement with the Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast as one of the focused outreach strategies that target the female population. Various events are held on campus in the Hampton Roads residential area located in the southeastern United States, which has a population of around 2 million people. Through this method, elementary age girls can be exposed to engineering content by attending events that are held on the university campus and lead by faculty along with graduate and undergraduate students. This paper showcases one such learning activity through an informal setting activity designed for the K-5 elementary grade levels. In this case, Girl Scouts in the following groups: Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. Similar activities can be delivered on any other college campus that offers majors related to the area of mechanical engineering / mechanical engineering technology; civil engineering / civil engineering technology; and electrical engineering / electrical engineering technology.

Jovanovic, V. M., & Popescu, O., & Considine, C. L., & Arcaute, K., & Kaipa, K., & Adams, S. G. (2019, June), Learning in Informal Environments through Engineering Activities through the Partnership with the Girl Scouts Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33052

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