SMART Student Program Information
APRIL 2018 UPDATE: The SMART Program is providing additional training to existing participants and will not be recruiting new students this year. However, if you are interested in the program, please ask your teacher to contact program manager Jennifer Isherwood, jishio@maine.edu; 207.581.2301.
PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS
- Rising juniors and seniors preferred; rising sophomore on teacher recommendation
- Highly motivated to learn about science and engineering of water
- Previous knowledge of chemistry and algebra preferred
- Minimum GPA: 3.0 or teacher recommendation
- Meet weekly with teacher-mentor and SMART group
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING?
- ENGAGE with your peers and your local community to solve real environmental problems.
- EXPERIENCE UMaine’s campus, working with your teachers, community leaders, University of Maine professors and students, and industry representatives.
- LEARN how engineering skills can be applied to solving environmental problems.
- GAIN experience that will help you prepare for college and rewarding job opportunities.
WHAT DOES PARTICIPATION INVOLVE?
During a yearlong internship program, high school students will work with their teachers and communities to help create innovative solutions to an important environmental problem for all states: storm water management. Participants will periodically monitor and map water quality around their local community, use the latest sensor technology for data collection, and learn to use computer modeling for data analysis in order to help solve local storm water issues.
The program begins with a 5-day institute at the University of Maine, Orono during the last week of June, which will introduce students and their teachers to the issues and science around storm water management. Then throughout the academic year, students will apply the skills that they have learned through hands-on data collection and research. At the institute and throughout the school year, participants will engage with university faculty and students, city and state planners, engineering consulting companies, non-profit organizations, and teachers and community leaders to:
- Collect important water data via probes and sampling.
- Build and use wireless sensor network units and interfaces.
- Learn to do chemical water analysis on samples.
- Use on-line mapping and modeling tools.
- Assist community water district managers to implement their storm water management plans.
- Help tell the storm water “story” through outreach activities.
Student participants complete a year long internship where work is assigned by high-school teachers and your community.
INTERNSHIP DUTIES/PROJECTS
Academic Year Activities
The Smart Summer Institute is followed by the required yearlong internship where you will work with an assigned high-school teacher and your community to help create innovative solutions to an important environmental problem for Maine: storm water management. Your responsibilities include:
- Meet weekly with the school storm water group organized by your teacher
- Commit to 2 hours per week to include but not limited to weekly meetings, data collection and entry, and planning
- Collect and enter data on a weekly basis
- Provide a written summary (capstone) project at the end of the academic year indicating your role in managing storm water in your community
With these activities, you will periodically monitor and map water quality around your local community, use the latest sensor technology for data collection, and learn to use computer modeling for data analysis in order to help solve local storm water issues. The logistics of the on-going requirements will be developed by your teacher. For evaluation purposes, you are asked to complete surveys during the program.
