The University of Akron to host first ever Youth in Corrosion Engineering Conference
On October 5, 2019, The University of Akron (UA) will host their first Youth in Corrosion Engineering Conference. The event is designed to shine a light on corrosion engineering and educate high school students about this fascinating - and not widely known - STEM career.
Corrosion engineers design solutions to lower the environmental impact on roadways, bridges, power plants, windmills, manufacturing plants and pipelines. They develop new materials that prevent or delay corrosion in the energy, chemical processing and pharmaceutical industries. The University of Akron is the only university in the country that offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Corrosion Engineering.
“We wanted to give young people the opportunity to discover corrosion engineering and get excited about this emerging field,” says Dr. David Bastidas, Associate Professor in the Corrosion Engineering Program at UA. “One hundred percent of our 2018-2019 corrosion engineering graduates had jobs prior to graduation. That is an overwhelming testament to the demand for corrosion engineers and the excellence of our program.”
Students will:
- See the power of corrosion by turning on a light bulb with a lemon
- Feel the strength of corrosion by ripping apart an aluminum can with their bare hands
- Tour corrosion laboratories and campus
- Have lunch with current corrosion engineering students
Parents are encouraged to attend and participate in a parents-only track of the program.
The event is organized by the UA chapter of The Corrosion Squad, The National Center for Education and Research on Corrosion and Materials Performance (NCERCAMP) and The University of Akron’s College of Engineering.
The cost to attend is $5 per student. Lunch is included in the price of student registration.