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Students study STEM for a day
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Joe Weetman, a senior at Poland Seminary High School, listened and observed as Kin Moy, Youngstown State University associate professor of electrical engineering technology, explained an oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer in a lab on the fourth floor of Moser Hall on campus.
Weetman was one of 17 students from 10 high schools across the Mahoning Valley and Ashtabula County who were YSU Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students for a day Friday.
The activity is part of the Youngstown Regional Science and Technology Festival Seven Days of STEM.
An oscilloscope measures voltage vs. time while a
spectrum analyzer measures voltage vs. frequency. Both are used for electrical systems such as those found in vehicles.
“It’s a lot,” Weetman joked.
His interest is in the aerospace industry, and he hopes to work with spacecraft.
“I’ll probably work for Boeing or some company like that at the beginning,” he said.
Moy, who retired in 2005 after 32 years at General Motors Corp./Delphi Corp., is a member of several national and international automotive-standards advisory committees.
Emilie Eberth, YSU’s coordinator of STEM outreach and scholarships, said the high-school students, all seniors, filled out an application indicating their top three STEM fields of interest.
The students then were matched with YSU students in those fields, spending the day with them, attending classes and visiting labs. Faculty members in those fields gave them tours of YSU’s STEM facilities.
The YSU students, all sophomores or older, either volunteered for the program or were asked to participate. Some are members of YSU’s STEM Leadership group.
The Seven Days of STEM runs through Sunday and includes activities for participants of all ages.
It’s the Mahoning Valley’s first regional science and technology festival.
It is sponsored by Time Warner Cable and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is a collaborative effort powered by OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology.