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Approximately 20 high school students will visit Lafayette May 19 to work with Mary J.S. Roth ’83, professor and head of civil and environmental engineering, and Polly Piergiovanni, associate professor of chemical engineering. They will complete labs similar to those college students conduct in Lafayette’s introductory engineering course.
Enrolled in Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School’s (BAVTS) one-year Academy of Applied Engineering program, students sample each of the four B.S. engineering disciplines offered at Lafayette. This year’s participants are from a variety of high schools, including Easton, Liberty, Northampton, Saucon Valley, and Notre Dame.
Roth and Piergiovanni will divide the students into two groups so everyone will have an opportunity to work with each professor. These students also worked with electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering faculty this past January.
James Schaffer, director of engineering, says Lafayette’s involvement stems from the faculty’s desire to advance their profession and reach young people who may not be aware of the opportunities engineering degrees can offer.
“All the engineering faculty at Lafayette enjoy teaching and interacting with talented students, but talented students don’t just show up,” Schaffer says. “To make sure that the next generation of engineers reflects the population, we have to be involved in K through 12. You have to get young people excited or there won’t be people to populate the technical majors. The earlier you get students interested in technology, the more years they have to take the right technical courses and get the right high school backgrounds.”
Lafayette actively recruits students for the Academy of Applied Engineering. On May 3, Schaffer discussed the program’s benefits with 20 prospective students and led a tour of Lafayette’s laboratory facilities. Students who apply must have completed certain levels of high school math and science courses, meet GPA requirements, and have a recommendation letter from a guidance counselor.
Although Schaffer would love for these students to choose Lafayette to pursue engineering studies, he says the department’s real goal is to clarify options for those who may not have seriously considered engineering before.
“What we’re all doing is trying to get bright young people interested in the engineering program,” he says. “In the past, some have come to Lafayette, but others have gone on to be successful at Lehigh, Drexel, and other schools. If they happen to come to Lafayette, that’s wonderful, but it’s not our primary mission.”
Roth was recently named an ACE Fellow by the American Council on Education. She received a Fulbright grant to study with scientists at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, in 2000-01. In 2002, she received an NSF grant for research on improving methods of investigating sites located in sinkhole areas. She has co-authored more than 15 articles and conference papers with student researchers. Roth was named Engineer of the Year for 2000 by the Lehigh Valley chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers and 1999 Engineer of the Year by the Lehigh Valley section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She is a past recipient of Lafayette’s Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award and James P. Crawford Award for excellence in teaching.
A specialist in biochemical engineering, Piergiovanni researches cell-dependent problems that have applications in pharmaceutical and biochemical industries. She has advised over 25 students, published 13 papers, and presented at 22 conferences, including those of the American Society for Engineering Education, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies. Piergiovanni has received several National Science Foundation grants, most recently one to improve chemical engineering labs this spring.
Lafayette and BAVTS have offered the Academy of Applied Engineering since fall 2001.