The Howard University Pre-College program, called the Energy Expert Systems Institute (EESI), is a 5-week residential program aimed at attracting high school students, with special emphasis on underrepresented students, to choose a career in electrical engineering.
Intellectual merits:
Extensive hands-on and research training to expose students to current and relevant topics in electrical engineering such as power and energy systems, communications, the application of system and network theory, material sciences, topics from civil engineering and computer science. Basic computation lectures in electrical engineering fundamentals and problem solving techniques. Lectures aimed at developing the oral and written communication skills of the students. Exposure to laboratory programming tools like MATLAB, PSPICE, Electronic Workbench, etc, and programming software packages like Artificial Intelligence, Fuzzy Logic, etc to improve the students technical skills. Tutorials on modern technology such as nano-technology, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), Distributed Generation (DG), and Wavelet (WL).
Broader Impact:
The Pre-College program is aimed at 11th and 12th grade high school students from the Metropolitan area (Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland) and other parts of the country. The program will expose them to electrical engineering fundamentals and its application to new emerging technologies through lectures and various research projects performed during the program. The activities proposed will enhance the students interest and appreciation for electrical engineering leading to increased enrollment in engineering programs and awards of engineering degrees. The program will also reach out to undergraduates and high school teachers from urban schools to allow them to gain a broader experience and understanding of technology. The experiences gained by teachers will impact effective teaching and learning of modern tools and technology in the high schools.
