The Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF), SPE Student Chapter at the University if Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and the UT leg of Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovations (IACMI) hosted two STEM events for high school students. Both these activities were led by our students and they included peer to peer education and an introduction to the World of Composites.
- Monday, June 11, 2018:
As part of the “Education and Workforce Development Program” / Summer Manufacturing Camp of the “Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley”, 12 High schoolers visited the FCMF.
The students had little to no knowledge in plastics, polymers and composites. During their visit, the UT students engaged them in several ways-- An introduction to what composites are and what we do at the school, and how the echo system works between industry, community colleges, university and the FCMF lab.
- A tour to showcase the equipment, samples and demos with discussion with UT undergrad and graduate students
- Experiential learning with hands on work to fabricate a composite snow sled. This activity included UTK-FCMF, IACMI, with industry support in the form of equipment and materials by Magnum Venus Products (MVP), Chomarat, MAFIC and PolyNT respectively.
- Wednesday, June 13, 2018:
As part of the University of TN Vols Teach program in the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences, UTK is providing support to a group of high school students along with UTK undergrads involved in the TRIO program.
The purpose of the visit was to expose them to emerging technologies in plastics, polymers, composites and additive manufacturing. The students were exposed to related career opportunities by touring the UT’s FCMF and Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL.
