After a five-year departure from the Pre-College for Engineering Systems summer outreach program, Dr. James Momoh, director of the Center for Energy Systems and Control at Howard University, wanted to re-implement the successful college preparatory program because of the alarming disparities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education among underrepresented minorities students.

The summer residential academy has a proven track record with students graduating on the baccalaureate and graduate levels from schools such as, Howard, MIT, University of Penn, Harvard and Georgetown University, for example.

The program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, has been a critical vehicle to engage and expose students to the realities of academic success in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields to impact the global economy.

Dr. Chanda Macias-
Bobo, director of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education at Howard University, developed a recruitment strategy to leverage the high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics talent into the four-week (June 24-July 21) intense program, which emerged the students in applied mathematics and hands-on research projects including smart grid technologies, renewable energy resources, nanotechnology and wireless communications.

The coursework concentrated on electrical engineering foundations involving Ohm’s Law, Kirchhoff’s Laws, methods of network analysis and control systems.

Enrichment workshops including SAT preparation and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics field trips spiraled the foundation skills sets into an in depth knowledge in engineering.

Due to the rigorous science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction of the program, each student received a $300 stipend for their participation.

The 24 selected candidates from grades 11 and 12 were from six states, (Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington and the District of Columbia).

North Carolina was represented by Tyler M. Jones (son of Valerie and Bill Jones), a rising junior at Northern Nash High School and Tora Collins of Charlotte.

For more information, contact Howard
STEM2012@gmail.com.