Fifteen rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Texas participated in the inaugural Chemical Engineering Summer Academy, held July 26-30 at the University of Arkansas. The students learned how chemical engineers use their problem-solving skills to improve people's lives, everything from developing medical diagnostic tools to producing biofuels. Each day of the program focused on an important area of chemical engineering and featured discussions, hands-on activities and facility tours.

Students used their chemistry and engineering skills to make the perfect cup of coffee and investigate how to use electrophoresis as a forensic tool. Other activities included membrane separation of milk into its components; designing and tearing apart a portable insulin pump; and on-site tours of Kraft Foods in Bentonville, and ImmunoVision, based in Springdale, a leading producer of antigens used in autoimmune research.

The students also participated in two competitions: building a solar still to collect the most potable water from a brackish water source; and extracting the most fermentable sugars from algae, the first step in producing liquid biofuels from algae as a feedstock. As a result, the students's interest in chemical engineering as a career rose, on average, from "moderately interested" at the start of the program to "strongly interested" by the end of the week, according to Ed Clausen, program coordinator for the academy and associate head of the department of chemical engineering.

The Chemical Engineering Summer Academy is part of the College of Engineering's residential engineering academy for high school students, challenging them to explore a specific area of engineering. The one-week program costs $650, which covers the cost of tuition, room and board, lab fees, course materials, recreational program costs, evening entertainment and field trips for the entire week. Scholarships were available to offset the cost. Partial financial support of the academy was provided by the Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers, a group of distinguished department alumni.

For more information about the Engineering Summer Academy, visit http://www.engr.uark.edu or contact Eric Specking, assistant director of recruitment, at 479.575.7780 or especki@uark.edu. For more information about the Chemical Engineering Summer Academy, visit http://cheg.uark.edu or contact Ed Clausen at 479.575.5412 or eclause@uark.edu.