With a Star Trek Theme, Local Companies Partner with UB to Encourage Aspiring Engineers

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Seventy of Western New York's best and brightest high school students flexed their mental muscles as they competed on May 23 in BEAM TREK, an all-day, brain-teasing race on the University at Buffalo's North (Amherst) Campus.

The Star Trek-themed competition was the result of efforts by dedicated alumni of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences working with local companies and educational organizations to find new sources of support for the award-winning BEAM (Buffalo-area Engineering Awareness for Minorities) program.

The BEAM TREK event involved 14 companies and organizations, each of which sponsored at least one team in Saturday's event. BEAM TREK so far has raised more than $20,000 for its summer educational programs, according to UB Engineering.

At BEAM TREK, UB engineering faculty challenged 14 teams of Western New York high school students to complete a broad range of engineering tasks.

The winning team from Williamsville East was dubbed "Buffalo's Best Engineering Team of the Future."

Students from the following high schools and organizations also participated: BEAM Saturday Academy, Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, East High, Hutch Tech, Nardin Academy, Nichols School, Orchard Park, UB Science & Technology Enrichment Program and West Seneca East.

UB's BEAM is a cooperative educational enrichment program that prepares inner-city, minority, female and other under-represented students for careers in science, engineering and technology through after-school and summer programs. Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded BEAM the 2008 Exemplary Public Interest Contribution (EPIC) Award for promoting equal employment opportunity.

Since its inception, BEAM has worked with more than 10,000 Western New York middle school and high school students who have been motivated to pursue science and engineering degrees. BEAM graduates include Western New York engineers and scientists at the top of their fields, employed in technical positions at corporations and government agencies that include Fisher-Price, General Mills, General Motors, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and Northrup Grumman, among many others, according to Marilyn Helenbrook, BEAM executive director.

In recent years, corporate donations dwindled because of the economic downturn. As a result, a group of UB Engineering alumni, led by Robert Tom, senior director of engineering for Fisher-Price and the event coordinator, and Harvey Stenger, Ph.D., UB Engineering dean, have begun working to find new ways to support the program.

"BEAM has an important mission," said Stenger, "every year, it reaches out to about 250 middle and high school students in Western New York, teaching them about fields like engineering and architecture and helping to sustain their curiosity about math and science so they don't lose interest. Since it serves mostly minority students, it's an important outreach program that's improving the diversity of students in engineering."

BEAM TREK sponsors included: Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart; Calspan Corporation; Career and Technical Education of the Buffalo Board of Education; the Committee for Black History of the United Auto Workers Local 774 of Powertrain Engine Plant, Tonawanda; Dupont De Nemours E I & Co. (Buffalo); Fisher-Price, Inc.; Dr. Gambacorta & Dental Associates; L & M Financial Services; Moog Inc.; R & P Oak Hill Development, LLC; Turner Construction Company, and the UB Center for Educational Collaboration. In addition to sponsoring the teams, some companies provided team chaperones.

UB faculty members and staff who developed and hosted BEAM TREK activities included Thomas M. Albrechcinski, site operations manager of UB's Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory; Stelios Andreadis, Ph.D., professor of chemical and biological engineering; Ann Bisantz, Ph.D., associate professor of industrial engineering; David Forliti, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Mattheos Koffas, Ph.D, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering; James Jensen, Ph.D., professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering; Gilberto Mosqueda, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering; Mark Swihart, Ph.D., professor of chemical and biological engineering; Sofia Tangelos, MCEER senior program officer, Srirangaraj (Ranga) Setlur, Ph.D., senior research scientist at UB's Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition, E. Manolis Tzanakakis, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, A. Scott Weber, Ph.D., professor and chair of civil, structural and environmental engineering, and Jennifer Zirnheld, Ph.D., deputy director, Energy Systems Institute in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

BEAM was founded in 1982 by a consortium that included UB Engineering, Linde-Union Carbide (now Praxair, Inc.), Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the Buffalo Public Schools. Funding is made possible through the generous support of companies, educational institutions, community organizations and individuals. For more information about BEAM, go to http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/beam/.

Founded in 1946, the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has 150 faculty members and an enrollment of more than 2,300 students. UB Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in six departments. The school's annual research expenditures are approximately $50 million; its per-faculty research expenditure puts it in the top 10 percent of U.S. engineering schools, according to data from the National Science Foundation. UB Engineering works with corporate partners in a variety of ways ranging from joint research ventures, to continuing education, to co-op work arrangements for students.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.