MSD students learn about engineering, computing during Career Day
June 10, 2024
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Trine University faculty and students introduced third- through fifth-graders from
the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County to multiple engineering and computing
fields during MSD’s Career Day on May 20.
Wendy Yagodinski, chair of Trine’s Department of Computer Science and Information
Technology, Jeremy Goossens, director of esports, Gary Greene, Ph.D., chair of the
Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Amanda Malefyt, Ph.D.,
professor of chemical engineering, along with students from Trine’s Franks School
of Education, interacted with more than 500 MSD students at the event.
“Wendy has been doing quite a few outreach visits related to virtual reality and extended
reality with Carlin Park Elementary School,” said Malefyt. “They reached out to her
to see if she wanted to participate in the Career Day.”
“We then decided to create a booth that provided a more well-rounded view of the programs
we offer within the Allen School of Engineering and Computing at Trine to showcase
the variety of activities and careers engineering and computing can encompass.”
Students were able to use a Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality headset to construct
augmented reality play spaces. Third-graders made slime, fourth-graders constructed
airplane designs and tested flight distance and time, and fifth-graders built foamboard
truss bridges.
Supplies were provided through a Lilly Endowment grant to Trine’s Pre-College Outreach
and Engagement.
When his brother returned from three years of teaching in Japan with photos and stories of that nation’s scenery, entertainment and culture, Trine University student Dominic Bumpus immediately fell in love with the country.
Assistant Professor Gurudutt Chandrashekar, Ph.D., of the Wade Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was awarded $6,000 for Trine University’s team in the 2025 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design/Build/Fly competition.