Outreach, Blue Marble Security
Why This Project Is Important
This project is vital in raising awareness for Michigan Tech's Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Target groups are middle/high school students and women, the latter of which is underrepresented in Engineering in general. Raising awareness increases the number of potential students at Michigan Tech, and will help to increase the number of women studying at Tech. This will help to diminish the gender gap in STEM fields, both at Michigan Tech and in the overall engineering industry.
Project Description
The Blue Marble Security Enterprise team focuses on reaching out to various members of the community in order to raise interest in STEM fields, particularly electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech. We do this in several ways:
- We design and host labs for community members and younger students with the purpose of exposing them to electrical and computer engineering concepts such as electronics, soldering, and programming. Labs are designed in such a way that they gauge interest and are easy to follow for people with no background in the field.
- Small trinkets that can be distributed to members of the community and possibly used as an incentive or 'Thank You' for potential donors. Examples include a hologram board which our members designed to stem interest in optics and a Christmas-tree blinking board to distribute to colleagues and prospective students in time for the festive season.
- We host larger events such as Open Houses and Women In Computing in order to show off the Michigan Tech campus and various electrical engineering labs.
Meet the Researchers
Sandra Cvetanovic
I am a senior student at Michigan Tech studying Electrical Engineering. I am also a student-athlete in the Women's Varsity Tennis Team. My academic interests include power distribution engineering and researching alternative forms of energy, and am additionally a fan of economics and am pursuing a minor in the field, with the intent of obtaining an MBA in the near future. Beside school and tennis, I am involved in research regarding the second-life of electric car batteries, and was previously involved and co-authored two papers discussing the effects of nanospheres on thin-film solar cell efficiency. In my free time, I enjoy playing piano, partaking in various sports, martial arts, and reading.
Glen Archer
Glen Archer is a senior lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan Technological University. He received his BSEE from Texas Tech University. He brings nearly30 years of experience as a U.S. Air Force officer to the university setting. He served as cryptographic linguist, an Air Trainign Command Master Instructor, cryptographic systems program manager for the US space program, and foreign air defense command and control systems threat analyst. He retired from the Air Force at his final assignment as teh Commandant of Cadets at AFROTC Detachment 400 here at Michigan Tech. He earned an MA in Information Systems Managemetn from Webster University. He is the faculty advisor for Blue Marble Security Enterprise. In his off-duty time, her pursues cross-country skiing and helps to maintain the Maasto Hiito/Churning Rapids trail system.
days left
funded
last
What Your Donation Can Help Us Do:
- Help Blue Marble Security fund projects and labs that encourage prospective students to pursue a STEM degree
- Extend our outreach beyond the local community. Currently we are only able to do events in nearby towns, but we aim to venture out into other areas in the Midwest such as Wisconsin, Minnesota and the lower peninsula of Michigan.
- Aid us in costs associated with hosting university-promoting events such as Open Houses and Women In Computing days.
Recent Donors
Some donors may be hidden.
Gifts to projects listed on SUPERIORIDEAS.ORG are received and processed by Michigan Tech Fund. Michigan Tech Fund is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code acting on behalf of Michigan Technological University. It is the policy of Michigan Tech Fund that a portion of the gifts and/or income therefrom may be used to defray the costs of raising and administering the funds.