Real-world engineering for high school students

Purdue’s Think Summer initiative is providing students an opportunity to learn key engineering concepts through its Summer College for High School Students program.

Starting in the summer of 2020, Purdue Civil Engineering will partner with the University’s Summer College for High School Students program, which gives high school students a chance to earn college credit before their freshman year. The one-week, college-credit course is called “Resiliency and Sustainability in Civil Engineering: Not Just Buzzwords.”

“It is our goal to spark and nurture students’ interest in civil engineering,” says Rao “G.S.” Govindaraju, Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering and the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering. “We feel this course will be especially interesting to future students as it deals with concepts that are relevant and world-impacting.”

Many factors — including earthquakes, floods and hurricanes — affect how civil engineers design our communities. By addressing these factors, plus other aspects of resilience and sustainability, engineers can create a better future for people and our planet.

In this one-week course, high school students will learn why terms such as “resilience” and “sustainability” are not buzzwords but guiding principles that affect the future of our communities. Additionally, the students have a chance to tour Purdue’s civil engineering labs, meet with faculty and student researchers, and gain hands-on experience related to building design, transportation planning and water management.

To learn more about Think Summer and Purdue Civil Engineering’s course, visit the program’s website at purdue.edu/summer-high-school.