Native American students tackle reservation’s persistent engineering challenges
Challenges faced by Native American reservations are many: lack of educational opportunity, high dropout rates, low representation in fast-growing STEM fields and therefore career opportunity, and dilapidated and unsafe housing options among them.
However, a National Science Foundation-funded research and mentoring program for Native American high school students run by CU-Boulder engineering Professor John Zhai will show students the power of engineering to identify and solve tribal housing problems, as well as create a lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering and math. This Sustainable Building and Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program is now in its third year.
This summer, 12 students from the Rosebud Indian Reservation spent a week in Boulder where they attended lectures on sustainability and engineering by CU faculty, participated in engineering design challenges and hands-on workshops on sustainable building materials and energy systems. Students built a straw bale construction wall, designed and built their own mold samplers, and installed a residential PV system in Denver with Grid Alternatives, a non-profit organization that brings renewable energy to underserved communities.