Colorado State University EcoCAR 2 Group in Denver Friday to Promote Girls’ Participation in STEM Courses

Note to Reporters: Photos of the Regenerate! science kits are available with the news release at http://www.news.colostate.edu.

Colorado State University will show young girls the fun and excitement of science and engineering in a special event – Girls Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (GESTEM) – at the Colorado Convention Center Friday, April 5.

Members of the EcoCAR 2 team from CSU will encourage 6th- and 7th-grade girls to participate in more STEM courses in the workshop. EcoCAR 2’s group is one of 93 workshops to appear at this event, and will be presenting on topics related to the engineering and energy sector.

EcoCAR 2 is a student-run program that is working to turn a 2013 General Motors Chevrolet Malibu into a hybrid vehicle. It is a three-year collegiate competition currently in its second year which focuses on vehicle implementation. CSU is the only team of 15 selected schools to build a hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid.

The name of the presentation is “Hybrid/Electric Vehicles – For Girls.” It focuses on providing girls with an opportunity to explore viable options for careers for women related to engineering and energy.

The group has created a workshop for the event where they will be presenting the Regenerate! Kit. The Regenerate! Kit, developed by Andrew Warnock of the CSU’s College of Natural Sciences Education & Outreach Center, is a compilation of all the materials needed to build a rechargeable battery with an instruction booklet.

Sponsors of the Regenerate! Kit include the university’s Clean Energy Supercluster, City of Fort Collins Utilities and College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center.

The kit was developed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy grant awarded to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. GM contributes to funding outreach events like the upcoming workshop as part of support for EcoCAR 2. For more information on GESTEM, go to http://www.societyofwomenengineers.org/RockyMountain/GESET.html. For more information on EcoCAR 2 visit www.ecocar2.org.

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