SME Targets Michigan Youth With Technology-Based Summer Camps for Girls

    DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 24 The Society of Manufacturing
Engineers (SME) will bring its successful national STEPS program to Michigan
with $100,000 in start-up funding from Ford Motor Company.  Through the
tuition-free STEPS (Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer camp
for girls) program, at least 80 girls annually will have the opportunity to
learn more about manufacturing, engineering, science and technology and
their career options.  The University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) has agreed to
host the program during the summer of 2002 and 2003.
    Said Randy Maiers, director, SME Education Foundation, "STEPS is the
nation's first coordinated and integrated approach to attracting females and
minorities -- the non-traditional workforce -- into manufacturing,
engineering, science and technology careers.  It is designed to reach future
engineers and scientists at an early age with hands-on activities and solid
information to get them interested and excited about these careers."
    STEPS will be an important new program for Michigan.  When the program is
fully funded, it will support one camp for 7th grade students in Metro Detroit
and western Michigan, and the Advanced STEPS program for 10th and 11th grade
girls at UDM.
    Workshops taught by college instructors will introduce girls to
automotive-based technologies including design, electronics and manufacturing
concepts.  In addition to the technology-based content, students in the
program will participate in a variety of activities that also help them learn
skills in team building, self-esteem and communication.  At the Advanced STEPS
program at UDM, campers will participate in an expanded program introducing
them to automotive design and production.  STEPS campers will also be given a
special orientation to the school's student center and other campus
facilities.
    Leo E. Hanifan, dean, College of Engineering and Science, University of
Detroit Mercy said, "This program reinforces our commitment to offering
programs that support diversity -- opening doors to help girls see the
possibilities for careers in manufacturing, engineering, science and
technology."
    STEPS targets students in a two-tiered approach first as they enter the
7th grade, and then again in the 10th and 11th grade, as part of a major
effort to attract more women and minorities into the field of engineering.
Thirty percent of the enrollment is reserved for minority students.  The STEPS
program began in 1997, with funding from the SME Education Foundation, at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menominee, Wis.
    Through its robotic competitions, technology-based summer camps,
manufacturing discovery laboratories, scholarships and grants, and many other
youth programs, SME educates, inspires and supports future manufacturing
professionals and their innovations.  SME's manufacturing education and
enrichment programs are targeted for students at every age.  In Michigan, the
SME Education Foundation has provided funding for manufacturing engineering
programs at Grand Valley State University, Michigan Technological University,
Oakland Community College, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Western
Michigan University.
    Organizations are invited to collaborate with SME and its Education
Foundation to support the development and expansion of youth awareness
programs.  For further information, interested organizations are welcome to
contact Randy Maiers, director, SME Education Foundation at 313-271-1500, ext.
1708, or email at maieran@sme.org .  For more information about SME's youth
programs see http://www.manufacturingiscool.com
    SME, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., is the world's leading professional
society serving the manufacturing industries.  Through its publications,
expositions, professional development resources and member programs, SME
influences more than 500,000 manufacturing executives, managers and engineers.
Founded in 1932, SME has members in 70 countries and supports a network of
hundreds of chapters worldwide.  For more details about SME, visit the website
at http://www.sme.org .

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