Materials science goes back to school

The Materials Science and Engineering After-school Academy is a new initiative helping broaden high schoolers’ scientific horizons by bringing materials science into classrooms in Illinois and beyond. 

“A lot of students do not know what a materials scientist does or what materials science is,” said André Schleife, associate professor of materials science and engineering and one of two faculty members leading the program. “This program gets the word out about MatSE and helps recruit people we would otherwise not reach.” 

Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Racheff Faculty Scholar Cecilia Leal runs the program alongside Schleife. She explained that the MatSE Diversity Committee conceived the ASA to provide a greater educational opportunity for under-resourced schools. “We have a really critical need for diversity in our undergraduate student body,” said Leal. “We need to invest the time in talking to people one to one.” 

Leal and Schleife have worked on several iterations of the ASA already. The duo helps plan the course, works with MatSE staff to send materials to schools and leads classes exploring some of the field’s fundamentals. 

But while MatSE faculty guide the academy’s efforts, Schleife stressed that “we need the teachers or counselors at the schools to be really hands-on doing all these activities.” 

The ASA also serves as an introduction to studying materials science at a college level.

A major component is talking to students about what it’s like to apply for college and, in particular, the College of Engineering and UIUC,” said Leal. When a student applies to an undergraduate program, she added, “they have had contact with two professors and a few students whom they can reach out to.” 

And Schleife and Leal have been impressed by their ASA cohorts so far. “The level of engagement and how interesting they found all these experiments was amazing,” said Schleife. “That was motivating for us.” Leal agreed, saying: “It was very rewarding to have the opportunity to speak to the students and to see their excitement.”