January 15, 2004

GE Foundation Grant Helps NC State, Wake County Schools Tackle Math

New Program Prepares Under-Represented Students for Careers in Engineering

John McCarter (NE '73), retired President of GE Power Systems Sales Europe and a member of the NC State Engineering Foundation Board, presents a $500,000 check to NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. (Photo: Jon Pishney)

With the help of a $500,000 grant from the GE Foundation, the colleges of Engineering and Education at North Carolina State University have launched a joint effort with Wake County Public Schools to strengthen the math skills of under-represented students.

The grant will help fund a new program called Recognizing Accelerated Math Potential in Under-Represented People (RAMP-UP). The program seeks to raise interest and performance in math for women and minorities, giving them the foundation necessary to pursue careers in engineering or other math-based fields.

“The GE Foundation funding is an exciting opportunity for the College of Engineering, in partnership with the College of Education, to expand our ongoing efforts to encourage and excite students about mathematics and engineering,” said Dr. Sarah A. Rajala, associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering.

The RAMP-UP program expands an existing outreach effort by the colleges that last spring alone reached more than 7,000 students “from Topsail to Asheville,” said Dr. Laura J. Bottomley, director of the Women in Engineering and Outreach Programs in the College of Engineering.

RAMP-UP is designed to promote and facilitate the teaching of inquiry-based math lessons that have engineering implications. Grant money will allow for pairs of NC State students, representing the two colleges, to work directly with Wake County teachers to help create specific lessons and hands-on activities for the classroom. “These are things most teachers simply don’t have time for,” Bottomley added. “Our students are great resources.”

Additionally, two partner high schools — Southeast Raleigh and Enloe — will work with NC State to offer engineering courses aligned with the NC State curriculum.

Elizabeth Parry, a mechanical engineer and long-time assistant to Bottomley, will serve as RAMP-UP program director. Dr. Karen F. Hollebrands, assistant professor in the math and science education department, will serve as the College of Education’s representative to the program.

The length of the grant, which is payable over five years, is designed to make a long-lasting impact on students and teachers — both in terms of measurable data and subjective impression. Success of the program will ultimately be measured by the number of students that pursue higher-level math courses and by math scores on end-of-grade tests.

While impressions are harder to quantify, they’re not hard to identify, Bottomley noted. Last year, Bottomley propelled herself down the hallway on a skateboard while holding tight to a rented fire extinguisher to demonstrate one of Newton’s Laws. “Kids obviously get excited about hands-on science,” she said. “We just hope it yields an interest in engineering later.”

— pishney —

Visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/geninfo/ge.htm for more information.

Technical Contact:
Dr. Laura J. Bottomley, 919-515-2315, laurab@eos.ncsu.edu

Media Contact:
Jon Pishney, 919-515-3848, jon_pishney@ncsu.edu

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