RET site: More than Automotive Toward a Healthier, Sustainable Society (MATHS2)

“Research Experience for Teachers” is an NSF-funded program that supports summer research experiences for K-14 educators. The goal of this program is to foster relationship and the exchange of expertise between University-level researchers and K-14 educators. In other words, engineering researchers share their expertise in engineering and research with educators, and the educators help faculty understand the state-of-the-art in K-14 classrooms (curricula, pedagogy, educational environments and challenges). This program culminates in the creation of classroom activities and curricula that broaden students’ awareness of and participation in engineering career paths.  Read more about the program here. 

Oakland University was recently awarded an RET site which proposed to focus on demonstrating that engineers work to make our society healthier and more sustainable. Since the metro-Detroit area is home to the automotive industry, many who live and work here conflate ‘engineering’ with designing the world’s next car. But this view is limited and engineers do much more than this! By integrating teachers in engineering research projects focused on health and sustainability and fostering the development of related classroom activities, we aim to shift the local vernacular from “engineering = automotive” to “engineering = a better world.” We believe that this shift will naturally result in increased and broadened participation in engineering careers.