West Virginia Universitys College of Engineering and Mineral Resources will provide hands-on learning about engineering to more than 140 Charleston-area high school students Wednesday and Thursday, Sept 20-21, through classroom activities in nine area high schools, a lecture and tours of two area facilities.

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., several science and math classes from Capitol, George Washington, Hoover, Nitro, Riverside, South Charleston, St. Albans, Hurricane and Winfield High Schools will come together for a tour of the South Charleston Technology Park and the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center (MATRIC), also located at the Technology Park.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, the students will attend a lecture at Dow onEnvironmental Sustainabilityby Dr. Sally Gutierrez, director of the Environmental Protection Agencys National Risk Management Research Laboratory. The lecture will take place in the auditorium of Building 701 at the Technology Park.

Guttierrez is the first Hispanic female to head a National Research Laboratory within EPA s Office of Research and Development.

On Thursday, Sept. 21, several teams of WVU engineering students will visit the same students in their high schools to talk to them about engineering careers and lead some hands-on engineering demonstrations and problems.

This event presents a unique opportunity for Charleston high school students to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering and math,said Gene Cilento, dean of the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.We are excited about reaching out to high school students who have the ability and aptitude for these fields, and getting them exciting about engineering.

The project is part of WVU s Engineers of Tomorrow Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Benedum Foundation, and designed to increase college enrollment in math, science, and technology-related fields.

This months Charleston program is a partnership between WVU , the West Virginia University Institute of Technology, the EdVenture Group, Dow Chemical and MATRIC .

For more information, contact Susan Case, College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, 304-293-4821, ext. 2213.