Nationally Recognized Outreach Program Hosts Competitions for Southern California Math, Science and Engineering Students
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 13, 2002 MEDIA ADVISORY Nationally Recognized Outreach Program Hosts Competitions for Southern California Math, Science and Engineering Students |
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BACKGROUND: More than 400 students from the Compton and Anaheim high schools will participate in the closing ceremony for the MESA Schools Program. Scheduled events include "Earthquake Engineering: Learning With LEGOS," where students build and test LEGO structures on the school's biaxial seismic simulator, or shake table. Students also will compete to create a winning "College Poster Board," which showcases the research they've done on specific colleges or universities. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Engineering Plaza at 2:30 p.m. The closing ceremony caps off a year of activities and competitions held for local junior high and high school students by the UCI MESA program. Supported by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, MESA develops and offers instructional materials and mentoring programs to math and science teachers and students at area schools. UCI undergraduates also tutor participating students. MESA is an outreach program founded more than 30 years ago to help students to excel in science and math. The program is designed to help more teens, especially those from low-income and disadvantaged groups, to get into four-year colleges. Nearly 90% of MESA high school seniors go on to attend college, compared to 50% of all California graduating seniors. This year, MESA won the Innovations in American Government Award. Nominated by Governor Gray Davis, MESA was one of only five picked from a pool of 1,200 programs nationwide, and the only California program to win this distinction. The Henry Samueli School of Engineering encompasses five departments: biomedical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, chemical engineering and materials science, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering. The school also is home to numerous research centers, including the Center for Pervasive Communications, National Fuel Cell Research Center, Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility and Center for Biomedical Engineering. In addition, the school is an integral part of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, one of three California Institutes for Science and Innovation. Additional information is available at www.eng.uci.edu.
### UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: A TOP-10 PUBLIC UNIVERSITY |
