Ten Saint Barnabas High School students in their new state-of-the-art Phyllis Grace Mozilo Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Art and Math (STREAM) Center were among 1,600-plus national participants joining a free virtual engineering lab celebrating Catholic Schools Week.

An expert panel of presenters, all with a connection to Catholic education, and many to the University of Notre Dame, provided a unique perspective into how their faith has shaped their path in engineering. Students participated in a virtual Electric Vehicles Lab on Thursday, Feb. 3.

The event focused on electric vehicles. Students learned the history, development and design of electric vehicles, and explored different methods of providing electrical energy to vehicles. They even had the opportunity to build an electric vehicle using materials provided by Engineering Tomorrow.

Presenters for the conference included: Kelsey Farr, SAE-Enableded researcher on hybrid electric vehicles, Grand Challenges Scholar Program at the University of Notre Dame; Olivia Jaenicke, optical production engineer at ASML; Joanna Caudle, Science Department chair at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Bethesda, Maryland; John Sexton, founder and CEO of LifeDrive, Grand Challenges Scholar Program at the University of Notre Dame. Students also heard from many college engineering students from the University of Notre Dame and other national universities.

Engineering Tomorrow introduces high school students to various fields of engineering at no cost through virtual labs. Labs simulate real-world projects designed by expert engineers so students gain unique insight and understanding into the world of engineering.

To learn more about Engineering Tomorrow programming, Megan Barrett is available to answer questions about the program at 917-334-4126 or megan.barrett@engineeringtomorrow.org.