Northrop Grumman Engineers Visit Junior High

St. Michael Junior High science classes were visited by engineers from Northrop Grumman on March 15th as part of the Discover E outreach program. Northrop Grumman developed this outreach program to head off the nation's growing shortage of engineering graduates by encouraging students to pursue math and science courses. This national program commemorates National Engineers Week by sending working engineers into local schools to share their experiences and help interest St. Michael students in an engineering career.

Mr. Kiran Reddy and Mr. Kevin Ponziani discussed their background, education, and cur-rent roles as electrical engineers. They went on to explain the many types of careers in engineering. Students brainstormed the number of engineers needed to get one can of soda to market. They were amazed at the variety of engineers and roles needed from mechanical engineers to acoustical (sound) engineers (there is a reason for the POP you hear as you open the can of soda!!). Students viewed their images on a monitor using a thermal imaging camera that displayed various temperature ranges of heat they were emitting. Students problem-solved questions as to the use of this type of equipment even in Orland Park. The engineers told the students that many local fire departments use this equipment to locate people in battling fires.

The Northrop Grumman engineers have challenged the St. Michael students to enter an essay contest that will explain how the visit impacted their lives. The top three essays will be awarded a trip in April and a tour of the Northrop Grumman facility in Rolling Meadows. To cap off this great experience, the engineers informed Mrs. Ramig that as part of the outreach program, St. Michael is now eligible for a grant to be used towards adding science materials for our lab!! The students of our school will continue to benefit from this experience well into the future!!