Trine engineering, computing camps draw more than 50 students

Trine University hosted more than 50 high school students at its 2025 Allen School of Engineering and Computing summer camps.

The Engineer Your Future and Tech Titans Computing camps were held June 9-11, with campers staying overnight on campus and eating in the Whitney Commons Café.

Engineer Your Future

Twenty-four high school students attended the Engineer Your Future camp, directed by Gary Greene, Ph.D., chair of the Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Students learned about several different engineering fields through hands-on activities.

For electrical engineering, they soldered electronic components to build an electronic cicada with working lights and sounds.

Teams of three to four students assembled a 3D-printed prosthetic hand to learn about biomedical engineering.

They were exposed to civil, mechanical and design engineering technology by designing and constructing, in teams of three or four, a cantilevered bridge used as a water conveyance system.

They gained additional exposure to civil and mechanical engineering by working in teams of two of three to design, construct and test 24-inch-tall columns made of popsicle sticks and hot glue. The winning column held 135 pounds, a new camp record.

They learned about chemical engineering through a separation activity and making chocolate and ice cream.

In addition, they teamed with students from the Tech Titans camp for an aerospace engineering activity. Teams of two or three students designed and built pneumatic rockets and launched them at the university’s Golf Course Apartments.

The winning design flew for more than seven seconds.

Tech Titans

The Tech Titans Computing Camp, directed by Wendy Yagodinski, chair of Trine’s Department f Computer Science and Information Technology, welcomed 28 students.

Participants learned about game design by creating 2D and 3D characters.

They were introduced to virtual reality through experience with the Microsoft HoloLens, HTC Vive Pro and Meta Quest 3 in Trine’s Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Lab.

The camp introduced them to the Python programming language and gave them experience with CrowPi and Raspberry Pi to learn about robotics and embedded computers.

They participated in an AI image recognition mini challenge where they trained an artificial intelligence. They also played an escape game on Trine's campus to learn about cybersecurity.

Dr. Greene said the camps exposed students to specific engineering and computing disciplines and examples of the types of things that engineering and computing majors at Trine University might design. 

“Because of the great interest in the camps, we had waitlists for both camps this summer. We decided to have two sessions next summer,” he said.

The 2026 Engineer Your Future and Tech Titans Computing camps will be held June 3-5 and July 22-24.