Stanford Report, June 23, 2006

Bring kids 10 and up to School of Engineering's 'Camp EDAY'

BY DAVID ORENSTEIN

EDAY, or Engineering Day, is the School of Engineering's annual alumni event. This year it is geared to families, not only of alumni but also of faculty, staff and students. On July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Arrillaga Alumni Center will become "Camp EDAY," where faculty and alumni will create an "enthusement" park for those aged 10 and up who are interested in science and engineering.

"For alumni, their children and the broader Stanford community, this is a chance to learn about great research on hot topics such as technology and the environment," says Beth Curran, director of alumni relations and communications for the School of Engineering. "It will also give teens an inside look at some of the things they might study in college."

The keynote speaker is Carl Rosendahl, an electrical engineering alumnus and chief executive officer of Uth TV, an online outlet for videos, photos and other artworks produced by and for teens. Rosendahl is also the founder of PDI, a computer graphics company that merged with Dreamworks SKG to produce Shrek and other films.

The rest of the day is organized into themes that let people indulge their curiosity in four tracks: environment, technology, life sciences, and college and careers.

The tech track features talks about design of easy-to-use gadgets, the workings of cell phone technology and "Stanley," the robot car that drives itself. In the environment track attendees can get up to speed on global warming, sustainable building and coastal pollution.

The college and careers track, in turn, will feature a panel of female alumni with exciting careers, a session on entrepreneurship and an outdoor design project by faculty and students from the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Meanwhile, the life science track will cover preventing sports injuries and making electronics that resemble the human brain.

Registration for Camp EDAY is required and is available online at http://soe.stanford.edu/eday06/. The event, which includes lunch, costs $25 for adults and $15 for kids.

Says Curran: "It's a way to beat the heat and store up some cool knowledge this summer."

David Orenstein is the communications and public relations manager at the Stanford School of Engineering.