Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State University will host the Mississippi Summer Transportation Institute in July, which exposes high school students to career opportunities in engineering and the transportation industry.
The institute involves hands-on activities to introduce 25 high school students to concepts within the transportation industry, including aviation, automotive and rail systems. Rising sophomores and juniors in high school are encouraged to apply for the July 8-27 program, which covers all costs associated with meals, lodging and weekend activities. Applications will be accepted until May 15.
Students from any Mississippi county will be selected based on completion of the application, grade-point average, essay and teacher recommendations.
Dennis Truax, professor and head of the civil and environmental engineering department, said the institute will allow students to use surveying equipment, computer programs, and other engineering tools to complete projects such as building bridges and learning how to make flexible, lightweight concrete.
"This is a way to interest students in math and science that relates to engineering in general," said Truax, one of the project's directors.
Along with the institute's activities scheduled on Mississippi State's campus,
students will also take field trips to transportation-related sites, including areas such as Columbus Air Force Base, Golden Triangle Regional Airport and Northrop Grumman. Other field trips include industrial sites and state highway department construction areas, such as the I-69 bridge construction.
The summer institute is funded by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and coordinated by organizations at MSU--the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, Bagley College of Engineering and the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program--Sonny Montgomery Chapter.
To receive an application or more information, contact Georgia Hackney at MSU's Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology at 662-325-9679 or ghackney@csmt.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.