WHAT IS InSPIRESS?

The Innovative System Project for the Increased Recruitment of Emerging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Students (InSPIRESS) is an outreach project that provides the opportunity for high school students to develop and design a scientific payload to be accommodated on a spacecraft which is designed by undergraduate students in the UAH IPT project. High school students collaborate with the undergraduate engineering students to understand the engineering requirements, the design process, and the role a customer plays in design. InSPIRESS teams compete for selection by the undergraduate engineering teams.

InSPIRESS is a STEM outreach program based at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

WHAT DO YOU GET?

Provided: online notebook, video lesson guides, bi-weekly engagement with UAH personnel (reviews virtual/in-person), & email support.

Topics Addressed: Science objective selection, payload design process, engineering requirements compliance, & risk analysis.

Grade Level: 11-12

Project Length: 15-16 weeks, 1 hour per week, same content for both Fall/Spring, one competition per semester.

OUR MISSION

Half of the students who enter engineering as freshmen drop out by their junior year…

Nationwide, the attrition rate for undergraduate engineering students is approximately 50%.  Furthermore, more than 90% of graduating seniors in engineering began their academic careers as engineers (compared to 50% and 60% in the social and physical sciences, respectively).  This means that, while the engineering attrition rate is not extraordinarily high, students typically do not decide to become engineers once they reach college.  Therefore, in order to produce more engineers nationally, we must retain and recruit better.

OUR GOALS

• Lay foundation for engineering
• Show spectrum and breadth of engineering
• Provide a context for upper-level math and science courses