SEEK Welcomes High School Students for its Inaugural Engineering Summer Camp

The Department of Civil Engineering welcomed rising high school seniors for Summer Engineering Exploration Kamp or SEEK! Students were on campus last week which is one of two cohorts the Department is hosting this summer. Forty students will participate between the two camps. 

SEEK allows students to explore various facets of civil engineering that deal with infrastructure and infrastructure systems. This camp is envisioned to give exposure to civil engineering, to students asking the questions; “What is infrastructure?”, “What do civil engineers do?”, “How do I get a career dealing with infrastructure?”  

SEEK uses hands-on, experiential learning activities to engage the students with topics such as Trigonometry Through Field Surveying, Physics of Impacts (From Hitting Bridges to Hitting Baseballs), Infrastructure Health Monitoring with Arduinos, and Technical Writing Through Science Fiction, all of which topics are designed to give the students exposure to the fundamentals of math, physics, computer science, and technical writing. More specific civil engineering topics such as the basics of reinforced concrete, beam bending theory, structural frame design, and water quality, are introduced to the students via “Evenings with an Engineer” activities. For these activities, engineers from area firms/organizations/agencies come in and guide students in designing, building, and testing model wooden towers, reinforced mortar beams, and water purification stations. The motto of the camp is “Learn by Doing!” 

SEEK will also take students on field trips to active worksites like a dam on the Kentucky River, the Richmond Regional Sports Complex construction site, the Bluegrass Airport, and even projects organized by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. “We are so excited to host SEEK students at a few of our local projects in the Louisville area. We can’t wait to show them what engineers do on a daily basis for our community and for the Nation!” Col. Reyn Mann, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District Commander. 

Throughout the week, Pigman College of Engineering students serve as mentors and discuss topics ranging from “the transition from high school to college” to “the qualities of a successful student.”  

SEEK is focused on creating a diverse pipeline of bright and talented students who will become the next generation of infrastructure professionals. Thus, emphasis is on first-generation students, students from Appalachia, and students whose ethnic, racial, and gender identities will enhance the diversity of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Pigman College of Engineering. 

This summer is the inaugural year of the camp. SEEK 2024 consists of a June cohort and a July cohort, with 20 students in each cohort. For the inaugural year, there were approximately 94 applicants from all over the Commonwealth for forty spots! Counties represented for the SEEK 2024 include: Boone, Kenton, Union, Jefferson, Shelby, Anderson, Woodford, Fayette, Nelson, LaRue, Washington, Estill, Rockcastle, Laurel, Leslie, Harlan, Letcher, Floyd, Johnson, Martin. 

 SEEK would not have been possible without the support from corporate partners which include Gray Construction, Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors, Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky and Stantec, Micheal Baker International, WEHR Construction, INC, Messer, Palmer Engineering, Society of American Military Engineering Kentucky Post, and HDR.   

Our partners recognize the importance of inspiring the next generation of engineers. Patty Dunaway, Vice President of Micheal Baker Internation 

“At Michael Baker International, cultivating and encouraging the next generation of engineers is essential to the future of our industry. We are a proud partner and sponsor of the University of Kentucky’s SEEK program, and the diverse students and ideas that the program supports reflects our firm’s commitment to hiring and mentoring great talent as We Make a Difference for our clients, colleagues and the communities we serve.”  

For more information about SEEK contact L. Sebastian Bryson, Civil Engineering Department Chair and Professor at sebastian.bryson@uky.edu