Engineering program named Ohio State’s top outreach effort

The K-12 Engineering Outreach program, led by Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Betty Lise Anderson, has been named The Ohio State University’s top outreach program for 2014-15. 

At the 2015 University Outreach and Engagement Recognition Awards on May 6, K-12 Engineering Outreach received the 2015 University Outreach and Engagement Award and $5,000 prize. The program also earned the Distinguished Community Engagement Award and $3,000.

As the top award winner, K-12 Engineering Outreach will be the university’s nominee for the national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award during the next academic year.

Reaching 10,000 K-12 students since 2008, Anderson and the program’s student volunteers develop fun hands-on engineering activities and take them to schools, camps and clubs to help get children excited about STEM. The program primarily targets underserved populations, minority-rich schools, rural areas and special-needs kids, and even traveled to Colombia to take their activities to children there. 

"I’m thrilled about these awards because I’ve seen the high caliber of previous recipients,” said Anderson. “As for impact, the prize money will enable us to go to even more schools and camps, impact more students, and do more of the projects that students get to keep." 

Detailed instructions and teaching tools for the hands-on activities—ranging from building working speakers out of paper to heart rate monitors—are also made freely available online.

Engineers for Community Service (ECOS) was also honored at the awards celebration. The organization received the Student Group Award for Excellence in Community Service Programming and $500 for their work to design and construct wheelchair ramps for residents who couldn’t otherwise afford them. ECOS partners with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, local churches and non-profit organizations to identify people in need, then assesses the client’s needs and builds the ramps at no cost to homeowners. 

The University Outreach and Engagement Awards are presented annually by the Offices of Outreach and Engagement, International Affairs, Undergraduate Education, Student Life and the Service-Learning Initiative to recognize faculty, staff and students for outstanding achievement. For a complete list of 2015 winners, visit the University Outreach and Engagement website.