College of Engineering holds event to promote STEM education for girls

The College of Engineering at Wayne State University hosted the Gaining Options - Girls Investigate Real Life (GO-GIRL) program's Keeping in Touch (KIT) Workshop "Material Girls Get Energetic!" on May 16th. This effort was led by Eranda Nikolla, assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science; Harini Sundararaghavan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Guangzhao Mao, professor of chemical engineering and materials science; Stephanie Brock, professor of chemistry (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences); and Sally Roberts, assistant professor of education (College of Education).

"These type of events are essential for bringing more diversity to the future of engineering and promoting the great possibilities of the field," says Nikolla. GO-GIRLs KIT is designed to encourage Detroit-area girls to consider education and careers in STEM. Forty-five middle and high school girls attended the event. This workshop began with a presentation on energy systems followed by a hands-on lab activity where students built their own electrolytic cell to power an LED. In the afternoon, students attended demonstrations on materials design for other applications. Students learned how batteries in series could power a car and how to design biomaterials to control cell behavior and provide cells with 'energy' for migration.