Kudos to the Granite Falls High School all girls race team participating in the CTE manufacturing program. These girls will be constructing a wind tunnel and applying research skills, design skills and be responsible for building a fuel-efficient car from scratch. When they are done they will be competing in a national competition next spring sponsored by the Shell Oil Company.
Under the direction and enthusiasm of Michael Werner, the school’s manufacturing instructor who pushed for a Carl Perkins grant that is helping to fund this undertaking, these girls will be able visit the Western Washington University Vehicle Research Institute to learn more about wind tunnels and testing aerodynamic features of cars. Wow! What a wonderful experience for them that usually in the past only boys were able to do. The Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing, formerly the MPDC has also pitched in some funds to help sponsor this wonderful opportunity to encourage these girls. We want all young people but particularly girls to experience lessons and best practices that will enable them to select high-demand jobs in nontraditional fields. This is what prompted Michael Werner to apply for the grant and got the car-building project rolling. The girls will hone their skills in drafting, engineering, math, computer science, computer-aided design, marketing and communication.
Here are some of the comments to me from some of the six girls who traveled to the Shell Eco-marathon competition in California, in April where they got a close and personal look at what awaits them.

My name is Sarah Turner, and I am a junior at Granite Falls High School. I have always been interested in math and science, so when I heard about this project, I was very excited. This seems like a great opportunity for girls that love engineering subject, and even girls that don’t. That’s the wonderful thing about this project; it has so many aspects to it that there is a little something for everyone. All the members of the team have the chance to showcase their own abilities and help the team by doing so. I hope that we can all work together to create a “car” that will do very well at the 2010 Shell Eco Marathon competition. Thank you very much for giving us the ability to compete. We all appreciate your generous sponsorship.

 My name is Sara Rood and I’m a freshman at Granite Falls High School. I joined the Shell Eco Marathon because it’s a way to show that women can do anything that men can and since most of us are inexperienced in these areas, we can imagine and achieve almost anything. Also, for the fact that I like math and science and as I’m considering being an engineer when I get older, this will help me prepare for it. On the team, I plan to be part of the research and design group, along with the racing committee where I might become the actual driver of our prototype car.

 My name is Elizabeth Matalomani and I joined the Shell Team as soon as I heard about it. It sounded like a really great experience, chances like this don’t usually come up, and it is definitely not average for girls to build a car. Right now we are in the design stage and everyone is compiling all of their ideas together. I want to work with the actual building and design of the car as well as like painting the outside of the car. I think this is a really good learning experience for everyone working on the project and I can’t wait to see how we actually do in the real competition.

Look for more blogging as these girls continue their work on this race car project! I am excited for them!  

Parents! Students! Lend me your ears! Do you know about Tech Prep classes and Tech Prep credits? If not… you need to know this stuff!

 There are two excellent videos describing what Tech Prep classes are and how they can benefit you as the student…and parents your pocket books! I will share links to these two excellent videos developed by Clark College and Whatcom County in a moment. Washington State Tech Prep’s Mission is: Tech Prep provides an articulated, coordinated sequence of learning experiences involving partnerships with secondary and post-secondary education, business, labor, government, and communities. Tech Prep enables students to successfully transition among different levels of education and careers. Dual enrollment is something else you definitely need to know! Download the Dual Credit Programs form here: http://www.techprepwa.org/pdf/Dual_Enrollment-Credit_One-Sheeter.pdf

Visit Edmonds Community College Tech Prep to find out if the classes you are now taking in high school will qualify for Tech Prep credit.  Everett Community College Tech Prep also has a superb Tech Prep program. You can get lots of useful information from their website. Seriously, this is good to know!

Now, the videos I promised you… please check these out as they are very well done and tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Tech Prep and dual credits! Remember, Tech Prep and dual credit is at every high school and can be used at just about every Community College and some Universities. Find out what classes will transfer for you. You can learn how easy it is by checking out the Whatcom County Tech Prep video  and click on About Tech Prep and then click on the Tech Prep video. Another fantastic video that explains the benefits of Tech Prep and dual credits can be seen at  Clark Community College . Now you know the 411!

Why Blog?

From an academic perspective there are several potential reasons to blog. But, actually it depends on what you want. Blogs are no different from media channels like video, print, audio, presentations and so on that use tools to share information. They all deliver results – but of varying kind. The kind of results I expect from blogs is mainly about developing stronger relations, feedback and discussions with important target groups.

My hope is to do just that; provide discussion, insights and receive feedback from you the reader. You could be a student, parent, or someone who is in the industry. I welcome your input.

As we begin this adventure, my goal is to share as much information as possible around Materials and Processes in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing regarding upcoming conferences, best practices, and white papers. More importantly, I hope to extend the boundaries of outreach to our young people who are trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. I want to engage them into thinking now about careers in engineering, materials science, drafting, electronics, welding, aviation etc. 

Help me with this outreach by providing useful information, facts, contacts and anything else you deem valuable. I look forward to our blog time!