EPIC 2022
Deadlines
February 2, 2022 - Online application Opens
April 15, 2022 at 5:00 PM (PST) - Online application Closes
TBD - Admission decisions are sent via email to all applicants
TBD - Full payment and registration due
TBD - All required material must be postmarked on/before
Who can apply
EPIC is open to all rising 6th-12th graders. The program’s primary goals are to attract more female, first-generation and low-income students to the field of engineering and inspire them to choose it as a career path. However, ALL students are welcome to apply regardless of background. Acceptance into EPIC is based on the essay you write and an indication (from your GPA, the classes you have taken, extracurricular activities, etc.) that you have applied yourself to your studies. The EPIC program does its best to determine which students will gain the most from the program.
Requirements for virtual program: Students must have access to a computer, reliable internet, and a non-school district issued email address.
How to apply
You can find information and steps on how to apply here.
Required Materials
Transcripts and letters of recommendation are NOT needed.
Virtual Program ONLY:
- Must have access to a computer to run Zoom: Windows PC Mac, or Linux
- Must have access to a non-school issued email address
- Must enter the student/applicant email address on the EPIC application
EPIC 2022 Details
Program Dates
- Session 1 June 13-17 Rising 6th-12th Grade (Virtual Program ONLY)
- Session 2 June 19-24 Rising 6th-8th Grade (Residential)
June 20-24 Rising 6th-12th Grade (Virtual)
- Session 3 June 26-July 1 Rising 9th-12th Grade (Residential)
- Session 4 July 5-8 Rising 6th-8th Grade (Residential)
- Session 5 July 10-15 Rising 9th-12th Grade (Residential)
- Session 6 July 17-22 Rising 9th-12th Grade (Residential)
Grades are based on Fall 2022 enrollment.
Highlights and Daily Schedule
7:30 am-8:00 am Morning Gathering Cheer (Residential Only)
8:10-9:00 am Hangout Social Activities (Virtual Only) / Breakfast (Residential Only)
9:10am-11:00am Engineering Class
Tentative Engineering topics/classes
TOPIC 1: Arduino Rube-Goldberg Machine covering Computer,
Software, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, and General Engineering
Description: Students will go through a variety of hands-on projects to learn about the world of computers, software, and electronics. They will learn about micro controllers, writing software, read sensors and control hardware, and construct a mechanical apparatus. (Virtual and Residential)
TOPIC 2: Designing Structures for Earthquakes covering Civil, Structural, Computer Science, and General Engineering
Description: Students will participate in hands-on activities to learn how earthquakes impact buildings as well as the design methods and technologies that ensure greater seismic safety. They will learn about shake-table testing of small structures, applying sensors, writing software to analyze data, as well as constructing earthquake force-resisting systems. Engineering fields that will be covered include Civil/Structural Engineering, Computer Science, and General Engineering. (Virtual and Residential)
TOPIC 3: Automated plant care covering Engineering and Agriculture
Description: Sensors and controls are used in many aspects of Agriculture today, whether crops are grown in the field or a factory. This lab will explore the use of various sensors to monitor weather and soil conditions around a single plant. Collected data will be used with a controller to help provide for the plant's wellbeing in various ways. (Virtual and Residential)
TOPIC 4: Rockets
Description: Let's get fired up about Aerospace Engineering. Learn how engineers design, build and fly airplanes, rockets, and spaceships. Build your own model rocket, predict the altitude it will reach, and then launch it yourself to verify your prediction. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 5: Airfoil Design
Description: The objective of this lab is to design and create an airfoil cross-section out of styrofoam material. The airfoil's lift force will be calculated by placing the cross-section through a homemade wind tunnel. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 6: Glider
Description: Design, build and test your very own glider! Students are introduced to aerospace fundamentals of stability, control, structures, and aerodynamics in glider manufacturing and design in this lab. Students will plan and build their own gliders using composites and various materials. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 7: Whirly Gig Activity
Description: Students will be introduced to thermodynamic and fluid principles that are considered when designing air and space vessels. Then, students will apply these principles to designing a whirly gig system. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 8: Photoplethysmography: Wearable Pulse-oximetry
Description: Students will learn about how the body transports oxygen from the lungs to tissue and how oxygenated hemoglobin can be measured using light in modern wearable devices. They will then implement a microcontroller-based heart rate and blood oxygenation sensor. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 9: Cardiovascular System: Vessels and Disease
Description: Interested in using technology to improve lives? This course examines Cardiovascular Disease which is the number one cause of death in the United States. Students will perform different methods of measuring blood pressure and learn about the electrical and mechanical properties of the heart and cardiovascular system. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 10: Fresh Water Percentage on Earth
Description: In this workshop, students learn about the different sources of water on Earth, units for measuring, amount of water-density- salinity, and how to draw a chart for the percentage of freshwater to saline water on Earth. Students will realize the great importance of keeping fresh water on Earth, especially in California, which is still suffering from a freshwater shortage. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 11: Graph Coloring
Description: Dive deep into computer science theory by examining how coding can create images. In this lab, you will learn about graph theory through the coloring problem. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 12: Text Compression
Description: Interested in a career in computer science? Examine how text compression can improve space efficiency. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 13: Scribbler Robotics
Description: Create art, navigate through a maze, and coordinate dance routines with... ROBOTS! This course is an introduction to robotics using scribbler robots that can do a variety of activities including the ones listed above. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 14: Fun with Arduino Microcontrollers
Description: Want to know how to use microcontrollers? In this class, students will learn about programming and using the Arduino microcontroller to put together projects. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 15: The Archimedes Screw
Description: Students will be introduced to the engineering design process where students will work together to try to build the most efficient Archimedes Screw. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 16: The Green City
Description: In this workshop, each group of students imagines they have a space area of 50 square miles close to the sea or the ocean. They will use the suitable drawing scale to sketch and design (by drawing only) an environmentally friendly city in this area and using the various clean energy resources to provide the city with the required clean power for living in it. After finishing this work the students will gain experience in the different methods of clean energy resources (like a wind turbine, water waves energy, solar panels,……etc.), the drawing and design skills, the design of the traffic roads which save money and time, the design of the different transportation methods which use the clean energy, choosing the appropriate areas for growing the plants and fruit trees, and students also specify areas in the city to raise animals and poultry, which supply the city with the necessary meat, milk and organic fertilizer. Finally, the instructor makes a competition among students groups for the best drawing design which satisfies the main requirements for the green city. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 17: Build Your Won App
Description: Ever wondered how the applications on your phone work? Or maybe how you can make one yourself? In this lab, you will create an Android app. You will specify requirements for your app, design the user interface, add functionality, and deploy it to an android phone. The best part? No experience is required. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 18: Scratching the Surface (Be a Game Designer Using Scratch!)
Description: Do you like playing video games? What if you could design your own video game? In this lab, you'll get an introductory taste of game development using Scratch. In this lab, you will find learn the basics of Scratch as well as how to use sensing blocks to get your game on! (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 19: Engine Dissection and Reassembly
Description: The purpose of this lab is to learn about the components of a four-stroke gasoline engine, and how they work together to form a functioning machine. The lab is comprised of two stages, disassembly, and identification of parts, and reassembly with an eye toward how the function of one part affects the function of another. The primary areas of interest are the cylinder, connecting rods and crankshaft, as well as the valves with associated cams, lifters, and camshaft. Students will also learn the overall operation of an engine, following the progression of the four strokes (intake, compression, combustion, exhaust). Once completed, students should consider why certain design decisions were made (the shape of the cams, etc) to further explore the concept of the design process. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 20: Glider Workshop and Composite Material Testing
Description: Design, build and test your very own glider! Students are introduced to aerospace funamentals of stability, control, structures, and aerodynamics in glider manufacturing and design in this lab. Students will plan and build their own gliders using composites and various materials. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 21: Car Crash Lab
Description: Interested in cars? In this lab, students will design and build car bumpers to minimize the impact on the passenger. Then, your design will be put to the test on our small scale crash test lab (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 22: Eco Surfboard
Description: Design your own surfboard design and build it! Students will be introduced to prototyping with foam and epoxy and will finish off the build by learning and completing the composite vacuum nag process. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 23: E-Textiles: Creating & Testing Circuits
Description: Learn how to design and create e-textiles (soft circuits) by sewing with conductive thread. You'll go home with functional soft circuits that you can use to convince friends and family that iron man really can exist. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 24: Exploring the World of Nanotechnology
Description: Through simple hands-on lab exercises, the students will learn about the fundamental of nanotechnology. The students will explore the nano scale, the types of nano-structures and their unique properties, the synthesis of engineered nanomaterials, and the tools for seeing and characterizing materials at the nanoscale. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 25: Metal Processes Welding and Casting
Description: Learn how metal is manufactured and formed. This lab will provide a hands-on experience for welding and a section on metal casting and additive manufacturing. (Residential ONLY)
TOPIC 26: Solar Engineering
Description: Learn about renewable energy by diving into the basics of solar power (from cells to entire systems). In this course, you will learn about how solar power works as well as getting to interact with actual solar panels. (Residential ONLY)
Virtual Workshop Requirements
Requirements:
- Access to a computer (Windows PC or MAC)
- Access to reliable internet
- Non-school district issued email address
- Workspace area
- Available daily from 8:10am-3:00pm
- Secure mailing address (Engineering Kits will be mailed here.)
