Outreach

Creating a pipeline to STEM success

We create and engage in outreach programs to expand and diversify the STEM pipeline from elementary through graduate school and beyond. Through these events, we aim to make science open to all and demonstrate the need for chemical engineering to address a myriad of societal challenges. 

• St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy is an after-school program established by the department that empowers middle school youth who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to become the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.
• WYSE Summer Camps at the Grainger College of Engineering are designed to provide STEM-interested students the opportunity to experience advanced curricula at one of the best engineering schools in the nation and the world. The camps provide exposure to different areas of engineering through demonstrations, classroom presentations, hands-on activities, and interactions with various students, staff, and professors in those fields.
• SpHERES is a program that is targeted to rising juniors or seniors at Champaign-Urbana high schools who are interested in careers merging interests in biology and engineering. Students will conduct research in one of several labs—ranging from Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Neuroscience, Bioengineering, Micro & Nanotechnology Laboratory, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. 
• Multicultural Engineering Recruitment for Graduate Education (MERGE) invites a group of prospective graduate students, including women and people from diverse cultural backgrounds and all physical abilities, to explore programs in The Grainger College of Engineering.
• We also attend meetings held by the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science, and other DEI student organizations to recruit graduate students.