GVSU engineering camp will feature first female German astronaut candidate

Middle school girls will get a glimpse into the careers of engineering during a four-day camp in June at Grand Valley State University. Campers will get to meet a special guest this year: Lisa Marie Haas, a physicist and engineer for Bosch who is one of six finalists to become the first female German astronaut. 

Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Day Camps will be held June 18-21 and June 25-28 in the Kennedy Hall of Engineering on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The camp is held to expose female students to careers in STEM occupations, which are made up of less than 30 percent women. 

About 95 campers from 47 area schools will get hands-on engineering experience by designing, manufacturing and flying electric airplanes. Campers will attend classes and engage in topics such as coding, aerodynamics and 3D printing. They will also visit the Gerald R. Ford International Airport to see fixed wing and helicopter airplanes.  

MEDIA NOTE: 

• Campers will fly their airplanes at the Warped Wings Fly Field located at the corner of Alger and 56th Avenue in Allendale on June 21 and 28 from 6-8 p.m.

• Lisa Marie Haas (no relation to Grand Valley President Thomas J. Haas) will give a presentation at the camp on June 21 at 11:30 a.m. in the Eberhard Center, room 215 on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus, and on June 25 from 8:35-9:05 a.m. in Kennedy Hall, room 124.

Haas, who has a doctorate in theoretical physics, will also give a public presentation for students, faculty and staff members June 25 at 10 a.m. in Kennedy Hall, room 124. Registration is open at http://gvsu.edu/s/0L7.

The camp is coordinated by the Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing. Haas' visit is sponsored by Bosch. 

The STEPS Day Camp began at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and has been replicated in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and South Dakota. Grand Valley has hosted more than 1,000 campers since the STEPS Day Camp began in 2002.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.gvsu.edu/steps or contact Sara Maas at (616) 331-6025.