The University of Texas at Dallas recently hosted an annual competition culminating the year’s Young
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Investigators program, which allows
high school and community college students to gain first-hand experience in STEM
fields.
After receiving training and assistance
throughout the years from a UT Dallas student and faculty mentors, a teacher
mentor, and an industry mentor, the teams presented the results of
their research. The winning team, from Richardson High School, presented a
robotic arm that used magnetic sensors to lift and move objects, showing how
magnetic sensing can help robots interact with their environments.
This was the program’s fourth year, and UT
Dallas expects that next year will see more student participants.
“Each year, the Young WISE Investigators
program has continued to improve, strengthening its model and its effectiveness
in helping to narrow the gender gap in STEM innovation and achievement,” assistant
to the provost Magaly Spector, who founded the program, said. “The program team
looks forward to continuing upon this trajectory by broadening participation to
more schools and students, deepening connections with high school STEM teachers
and curricula, and creating more structured opportunities for young women to
learn firsthand how they can advance science and engineering research to
improve the world around them.”