MMAE Department Hosts 2015 ASM Materials Camp

Since 2013, IIT and the American Society of Materials (ASM) International have partnered together to sponsor and host an important outreach program aimed at reaching local Chicagoland junior high and high school students.

From July 6 -10, 2015, the Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering (MMAE) Department at IIT has been hosting a group of 15 junior high and high school science and math teachers from the greater Chicagoland region for the ASM Materials Camp. Master teachers Caryn Jackson of Tolles Career & Technical Center in Plain City, Ohio and Bernoli Baello of Northridge Prep School in Niles, IL have been leading demonstrations and helping to "educate the educators" on how to develop effective laboratory modules that help promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning in the classroom.

The camp consists of a week-long instructional period that is free to all teachers. It provides them with a chance to learn and try out hands-on activities that they can take back to their classrooms. Each of the teachers that complete the ASM Materials Camp program will have the opportunity to expose MSE and STEM concepts to hundreds of local students that are educated in their classrooms every year. Professor of Materials Engineering, Sammy Tin and staff members, Elena Magnus and Russ Janota, from the MMAE Department have served as local organizers for this important outreach program.