TryEngineering programs are in full swing!

Want to hear what our parents and kids have to say?  Here’s a doubleshot of quotes from 3 parents and 3 students from our UCR location:

3 Parent Quotes:
Damien had a terrific time there.  i can’t stress enough what a blessing that was for him.  Suzane was amazing and your staff there was so good to him.  It really boosted his confidence.  Now he is actually excited about engineering and looking forward to going to college!

My son, Alex  had an amazing time at the UC Riverside TryEngineering Camp.We spoke often, and each time his voice rang with enthusiasm and pride.  Thank you so much for offering him access to this camp, he came home motivated, proud and even more certain a career in engineering is his goal.

On another note, Suzane and the RAs were phenomenal!  Mia was a little homesick at first but the counselors were very supportive and kind.  They helped Mia with their encouragement and friendship.  This allowed Mia to blossom and experience all the new learning opportunities at the camp!

3 Student quotes:
I personally very much enjoyed this camp! We completed many interesting projects and did very fun activities. The counselors were nice and fun and easy to talk to, and the other students were very easy to work with.

The TryEngineering Summer camp was a unique educational experience. My favorite aspects of the summer program was collaborating and learning from industry leaders and college students. The activities after our classes were always entertaining and I formed strong bonds with my campmates very quickly.

I liked it a lot. There were many fun hands on activities. The projects were very unique, very different than what we do at school.

Electrical engineering is a professional engineering discipline that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. This field first became an identifiable occupation in the later half of the 19th century after commercialization of the electric telegraph, the telephone, and electric power distribution and use. Subsequently, broadcasting and recording media made electronics part of daily life. The invention of the transistor, and later the integrated circuit, brought down the cost of electronics to the point they can be used in almost any household object.

Electrical engineering has now subdivided into a wide range of subfields including electronics, digital computers, computer engineering, power engineering, telecommunications, control systems, robotics, radio-frequency engineering, signal processing, instrumentation, and microelectronics. Many of these subdisciplines overlap with other engineering branches, spanning a huge number of specializations such as hardware engineering, power electronics, electromagnetics & waves, microwave engineering, nanotechnology, electrochemistry, renewable energies, mechatronics, electrical materials science, and much more. Electrical engineers typically hold a degree in electrical engineering or electronic engineering. Practicing engineers may have professional certification and be members of a professional body. Such bodies include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 

Electrical engineers work in a very wide range of industries and the skills required are likewise variable. These range from basic circuit theory to the management skills required of a project manager. The tools and equipment that an individual engineer may need are similarly variable, ranging from a simple voltmeter to a top end analyzer to sophisticated design and manufacturing software.

Electrical engineers design, develop, test and supervise the manufacturing of electrical equipment, such as electric motors, radar and navigation systems, communications systems and power generation equipment, states the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Electronics engineers design and develop electronic equipment, such as broadcast and communications systems — from portable music players to global positioning systems (GPS).”

If it’s a practical, real-world device that produces, conducts or uses electricity, in all likelihood, it was designed by an electrical engineer. Additionally, engineers may conduct or write the specifications for destructive or nondestructive testing of the performance, reliability and long-term durability of devices and components.

Today’s electrical engineers design electrical devices and systems using basic components such as conductors, coils, magnets, batteries, switches, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors. Nearly all electrical and electronic devices, from the generators at an electric power plant to the microprocessors in your phone, use these few basic components.

Critical skills needed in electrical engineering include an in-depth understanding of electrical and electronic theory, mathematics and materials. This knowledge allows engineers to design circuits to perform specific functions and meet requirements for safety, reliability and energy efficiency, and to predict how they will behave, before a hardware design is implemented. Sometimes, though, circuits are constructed on “breadboards,” or prototype circuit boards made on computer numeric controlled (CNC) machines for testing before they are put into production.

Electrical engineers are increasingly relying on computer-aided design (CAD) systems to create schematics and lay out circuits. They also use computers to simulate how electrical devices and systems will function. Computer simulations can be used to model a national power grid or a microprocessor; therefore, proficiency with computers is essential for electrical engineers. In addition to speeding up the process of drafting schematics, printed circuit board (PCB) layouts and blueprints for electrical and electronic devices, CAD systems allow for quick and easy modifications of designs and rapid prototyping using CNC machines.

Electrical Engineering is a cool area of study, and becoming an Electrical Engineer is a very cool way to build a fantastic life for any student!

Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston: A Behind the Scenes Tour

The TryEngineering students will take part in a behind the scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston (SCH).  Escorted by a NASA Propulsion Engineer who helped get the astronauts to the moon, the engineering summer camp students will tour the famed Mission Control Facility, the large Mockup and Training Facility, and the Rocket Park where they will view the Saturn V Moon Rocket.

Following the tour the campers will return the Education Building and meet with NASA engineers who will talk about STEM careers at NASA and their experiences working at NASA.  A SCH Education staff member will discuss various educational programs that are offered by NASA.  Following lunch in the Zero-G Cafeteria, the campers will tour some of the historic space hardware on display including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, as well as a walk-through of the Skylab trainer.

Our engineering summer camp students will also get a look at some of the Apollo-Soyuz Program hardware and get an opportunity to touch a Moon rock. Once the escorted portion of the tour is complete, the campers will have the opportunity to experience other SCH exhibits including the Mars Exploration Exhibit, the Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and the Space Shuttle Orbiter Mock-up.  And a visit to the Gift Shop will close out the tour.

Note: This is only available to our Texas A+M students.  We will be going both sessions.

It is our intention to add as many other cool trips for our other locations!  Check back soon for more!