Interdisciplinary Math and Engineering Project

STEMS@Therrell in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology is involved in an interdisciplinary math and engineering project. This project will focus on developing a design for a solar powered cell phone charging station. Seniors and juniors who have completed Math III and at least 2 courses in Engineering are eligible to apply for inclusion in this project. Once selected, the students will be enrolled inMathematics of Industry and Government(MIG) and in Engineering applications for the academic year 2012-2013.  

Purpose:
Mathematics of Industry and Government(MIG) is a mathematics application course that focuses on deterministic and probabilistic mathematical modeling. It is a fourth year math course for students in the state of Georgia and is based on concepts in operations research, a part of the industrial engineering department at Georgia Institute of Technology.Engineering Applicationsis the third course in the GA CTAE Engineering Pathway. This project provides an opportunity for real world use of the knowledge and skills in both courses to solve an international problem.

 Description:
Rural South African teenagers and adults outside of the city of Johannesburg currently walk two to five miles to a community center to get power to charge their cell phones. Cell phone charging stations would reduce the time spent to get a cell phone charged and increase the chance that the phone gets charged regardless of the problems with the village’s access to electricity. An MIG class in conjunction with an Engineering Applications class can help plan, design and develop an optimal alternative energy solution for this problem.

 Cost for developmental materials and supplies would be incurred by CEISMC Georgia Tech in order to guide the engineering design aspect of this project and reduce the cost for implementation. The prototype will be constructed during the 2012-2013 school year.

 Implementation materials and supplies will also be provided by CEISMC Georgia Tech. Shipping will be handled in kind by MedShare, an Atlanta based Non-Government Organization (NGO) that ships medical supplies around the world. Communication and collaboration on the problems, constraints, and construction of the design will be done through the Independent Development Trust (IDT), an NGO that provides support to rural South Africans. A similar project has been done by CEISMC with Westlake High school previously on an Engineers Without Borders project (see their blog athttp://westlakehigh-ewb-africa2007.blogspot.com)

 Goals:
·        Increase student interest in pursuing a STEM career

·        Provide an authentic STEM application of MIG to solve a real world problem

·        Design an interdisciplinary STEM experiencgrame with an MIG class and CTAE Engineering Applications class

·        Demonstrate the relevance of math and science to high school students through a real world project.