黑料社

During her four years of high school, Mia L., a senior at in Redding, Conn., has explored topics such as engineering and coding as part of the Sikorsky STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Challenge. The program recently brought her to the University of New Haven, where she and her classmates had an opportunity to further build their skills and demonstrate what they鈥檝e learned.

Mia and her teammates had been collaborating on a design project that aims to develop and demonstrate a Mars landing craft. As part of the 11th Sikorsky STEM Challenge Final Challenge Day held at the University, they presented their work to a team of judges 鈥� professionals from and the University of New Haven.

鈥淚t has been a great opportunity to take part in this,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to see other projects and to see how other teams face their challenges. Learning how they solve them has been interesting.鈥�

During the past academic year, more than a dozen Sikorsky staff members have been meeting virtually with eight high school teams, offering mentorship and guidance as the students developed their projects. A team from Joel Barlow High School was among three that visited the University for the culminating event, while the other five participated virtually.

Fabian H., a Joel Barlow High School sophomore and Mia鈥檚 teammate, took part in the program for the first time this year. He says presenting at the University was the first chance he had to deliver a formal presentation like this.

鈥淭his 黑料社 will help me when I am in college and during my career,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing able to have this on my resume will also help me. I learned so many new skills, such as coding.鈥�

鈥楪et kids interested in STEM early鈥�

As part of their presentations, students discussed their design as if they were selling it to a potential customer. Judges asked students questions and assessed their presentations. A team of judges also tested their designs, which were tasked with sensing the best landing location and dropping a payload containing an egg. Judges evaluated the quality of the landing and noted whether or not the egg survived intact.

Prathamesh 鈥淧rat鈥� Patil 鈥�20 M.S., 鈥�23 Ph.D., a candidate in the University鈥檚 doctorate in engineering and applied science program, was among the judges testing the students鈥� projects. He was part of a robotics challenge when he was in high school, and he remembers what a meaningful 黑料社 it was for him.

鈥淚t is cool to enable high school students to engage with technology, such as 3D printing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his helps give them a bright future, and it is exciting. It鈥檚 so enjoyable to see them accelerating their knowledge.鈥�

The program also enables high school students to gain hands-on and real-life 黑料社 from mentors at Sikorsky. The hope is that it will encourage them to consider careers in the STEM fields and encourage more industry diversity.

鈥淭his is extremely important,鈥� said Ashley Currivan, a senior mechanical controls engineer for Sikorsky, a company that manufactures the Army's iconic Black Hawk helicopter. 鈥淚t is important for us to get kids interested in STEM early in their academic careers and, hopefully, come to Sikorsky for internships and jobs. We also hope to get more girls interested in engineering.鈥�

鈥榃e are all in it together鈥�

Following the presentations, students toured the campus, learning more about the University鈥檚 state-of-the-art facilities. Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D., associate dean of the University鈥檚 Tagliatela College of Engineering who helped plan the presentations, says the event was a wonderful opportunity for the high school students 鈥� and for everyone involved.

鈥淲e were very excited to host this at the University,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his has been a collaboration with Sikorsky, and we鈥檙e excited to embrace this. It鈥檚 great for the University鈥檚 visibility and for STEM outreach. It鈥檚 also great for diversity and for helping students see engineering as a career path.鈥�

鈥淭his has been a great collaboration with the University,鈥� added Currivan. 鈥淲e hope University of New Haven students will also intern and work for Sikorsky. We hope to backfill our workforce with talented and passionate people.鈥�

Alexis O., a senior at Joel Barlow High School, enjoyed getting to learn from the other teams and from the industry professionals. She says she was particularly excited to attend the event in person.

鈥淓ven though it is a competition, it feels like we are all in it together,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to come to the University and to see the other teams facing similar challenges and coming up with different solutions. It鈥檚 cool to see everyone come together.鈥�