As The Infinity Project continues its expansion into more high schools across the country, we hear instructors ask what they can do to help identify future engineers. The following characteristics should prove helpful in identifying these future technology leaders:

• Aptitude for and enjoyment of math or science. Female engineering students particularly express a love for math.

• Good interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills. These students may be involved in drama, debate, or on the drill team.

• Family member who is an engineer.

• Participation in extracurricular activities such as band/orchestra, talented and gifted program, science fair, or robotics team.

Once you identify a student who may be a future engineer, talk with them. Find out if they want to help others, enjoy being creative, and like solving problems.

Engineering is all around us. It’s in the food we eat, the shoes we wear, the technologies we use. It’s in places we don’t normally think of and often take for granted. The career opportunities are boundless; we just need to expose students to them. The Infinity Project is here to help you do just that. By working together we can expose the math, science, engineering, and fun behind the technologies students use everyday and nurture our future engineers. 

Grant Opportunity!

If you are a Region IV school in the Houston area, you are eligible for a special grant opportunity to implement The Infinity Project at ½ the cost!

The Houston Endowment Inc. has awarded The Infinity Project, the nation’s leading secondary engineering education program, $441,000 to expand its curricula to more Houston-area schools.

With the gift, local teachers in TEA Region IV will be able to apply for a $3,000 matching grant to introduce the award-winning curricula into their classroom. Approved by the Texas Education Agency, the curricula links math and science to real world engineering and technology applications. The program is a full-year course that allows students to design and build new technologies such as cell phones and creating movie special effects while reinforcing critical math and science skills. The Houston Endowment’s gift will be used to provide professional development for teachers and technology kits for the classroom.

To lean more about The Infinity Project and grant opportunity, contact Dianna Rey, Director of Academic Relations, at 214-768-1920 or drey@infinity-project.org.

Mark Your Calendar!

Professional development training is a vital part of The Infinity Project curriculum. Each summer teachers attend week long training sessions at various university locations to become certified Infinity instructors. Training is conducted by Master Infinity Instructors who provide comprehensive hands-on instruction in using the text, lab manual, and technology kit

Professional development training for the 2006-2007 school year will be hosted as follows:

June 12 – 16	Southern Methodist University	Dallas, Texas
June 26 – 30	Southern Methodist University	Dallas, Texas
June 26 – 30	University of Houston	Houston, Texas
July 10 – 14	Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, California
July 17 – 21	Southern Methodist University	Dallas, Texas

Each course costs $750 to attend and includes instructional materials. Refresher training is available to current Infinity instructors at a reduced rate of $450.

Make plans now to attend one of these exciting sessions. Not only will you receive 35 hours of professional development credit for attending, you will have the opportunity to network and share ideas with fellow teachers. To register for a session of your choice, contact the Infinity staff at 214-768-4038 or visit our website at http://www.infinity-project.org/edu/edu_prodev.html.

Future Engineering Stars Take Off!

Sixty schools equipped with their student-built robots met on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas to complete a “Mission to Hubble”. The 2005 Texas BEST Championship attracted over 2,500 middle and high school students throughout the states of Texas and New Mexico.

Students came prepared to perform critical repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope and match their remote-controlled robotic machines in a game of strategy, speed, and skill. The SMU School of Engineering and Texas Instruments proudly sponsored the Olympic-style robotics championship. Additional sponsors included Raytheon, National Instruments, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Cummins Southern Plains, Ltd.

Texas BEST, which stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, is one of three regional play-off events for BEST Robotics Inc. that concludes an annual fall student team robotics design challenge. As with local BEST contests, competition day at Texas BEST is a thrilling mix of both science fair and sporting event.

“Our country as a critical need to produce more engineering graduates, and I can’t think of a better way to fulfill this need than by creating a sense of excitement and interest in the engineering profession through the Texas BEST competition,” said Tammy Richards, assistant dean of the SMU School of Engineering. “Several of the schools advancing to the championship utilize The Infinity Project curriculum and credit it for their team’s success. While students master technical skills during the competition, they will also learn about communication, leadership and teamwork, skills that will serve them well no matter their future procession.”

For more information about The Infinity Project and how you can get started in offering this exciting curriculum at your school, visit our web site at www.infinity-project.org.

Updates to Web Classroom Support

The Infinity Project staff has been hard at work upgrading the level of support available to instructors. Individual IDs and passwords have been provided to instructors for easier access to the Classroom Support section on the Infinity website. Following are some of the changes we have made to better serve your needs:

New Discussion Board

Instructors can network, share experiences, and exchange ideas with peers utilizing the “Discussion Board”. Forums have been streamlined to focus discussions in three specific areas:

• General Discussion Forum
• Curriculum Discussion Forum
• Technology & Software Kit Discussion Forum

Help

The Help page provides instructors with the opportunity to get answers to frequently asked questions and contact the Infinity team for assistance. This site is monitored and questions are responded to within one business day. The site is set up as follows:

• Frequently Asked Questions