/news-archive/tag/exxonmobil/ ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Mon, 24 Jul 2017 17:02:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2017/07/24/bernard-harris-2/ Mon, 24 Jul 2017 17:02:08 +0000 /news/?p=67513 ... Astronaut Bernard Harris gives advice to future STEM leaders]]> When the astronauts returned, the American people celebrated their extraordinary achievements with ticker-tape parades. Harris was determined to follow their footsteps into space. “They were called American heroes,” he said. “I wanted to be an American hero.” During the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp July 11 in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Engineering and Information Technology, Harris told a group of 36 participants the story of how he became the first African American to walk in space. Sponsored by the and Harris, the camp offers middle school students in underserved and underrepresented populations a free, two-week learning experience in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Harris recognizes that middle school is a critical time when most students might give up on pursuing STEM-related majors and careers. He hopes his story will inspire campers to pursue math and science educational opportunities. “When you finish college, we want to make sure you have a job to take care of yourself and your family, so you can give back to your community,” he said. After watching the moon landing, Harris began his lifelong dream to travel to space by learning everything he could about astronauts and what it took to become one. However, it didn’t take him long to notice that there were no African American astronauts for him to admire. “Just after the end of the Civil Rights Movement, there wasn’t much expectation for somebody who looked like me to go into space,” he said. “There wasn’t much expectation for somebody who was black, or Hispanic, or Asian, or a woman to be an astronaut.” He told camp participants they should not be ashamed for being future leaders in STEM fields. “I got teased about being smart,” Harris recalled of his school years. “Sometimes, it’s not cool to be smart. In this camp, it’s cool to be smart. You are surrounded by the future leaders of America.” After earning a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University, Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and a National Council fellowship in endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center. In addition, he trained as a flight surgeon. In 1990, Harris was one of only about 20 people out of more than 6,000 applicants selected into the Astronaut Corp. He was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1993. As payload commander on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995, he served on the first flight of the joint Russian-American Space Program, becoming the first African American to walk in space. Harris worked at NASA for a decade, conducting research in musculoskeletal physiology and disuse osteoporosis. He conducted clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed in-flight medical devices to safely extend astronauts’ time in space. When asked what he missed the most about being in space, Harris said floating around the space shuttle in zero gravity, since it allowed him to “fulfill another childhood dream of being Superman.” ]]> /news-archive/2017/04/07/exxonmobil-bernard-harris-summer-science-camp/ Fri, 07 Apr 2017 14:17:36 +0000 /news/?p=66756 ... Applications available for ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp]]> The next generation of innovators, scientists, and engineers can get a head start in their future careers at the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp July 9-21 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  Thanks to a grant from and , ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology will host a free, two-week summer camp for middle school students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. For the 12th consecutive year, ExxonMobil Foundation and Dr. Bernard A. Harris, Jr., the first African American to walk in space, will sponsor summer science camps at universities  across the United States. ����Vlog��ý Little Rock is hosting the camp for the ninth year. To be eligible, students must be members of a traditionally underserved and underrepresented population; be entering sixth, seventh, or eighth grade; have an overall grade of at least a B in math and science; and a score at the median to superior level on standardized math and science tests. They also must write a 250-word essay and have strong recommendations from their math and science teachers. Led by Executive Camp Director and Engineering and Information Technology Assistant Dean Vernard Henley, the two-week residential summer camp will host 36 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from all over the state. These STEM-curious attendees will participate in experiments and go on field excursions to reinforce the project-based curriculum. ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camps have served more than 12,500 students across the country since 2006. Fill out the online form to apply. Applications must be postmarked by May 2. Contact Vernard Henley at 501.569.8203 or vwhenley@ualr.edu for more information. ]]> /news-archive/2016/03/01/ualr-grant-free-stem-summer-camp-middle-school-students/ Tue, 01 Mar 2016 17:13:39 +0000 /news/?p=63589 ... ����Vlog��ýLR receives grant to hold free STEM summer camp for middle school students]]> and . The $50,000 grant enables ����Vlog��ýLR’s Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) to host a free two-week summer camp for middle school students July 10-22. It will be one of 10 taking place around the country. This is EIT’s eighth consecutive year hosting the camp. Led by Executive Camp Director and EIT Assistant Dean Vernard Henley, Jr., the two-week residential summer camp will host 36 sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students from all over the state. These STEM-curious attendees will participate in experiments, go on field excursions to reinforce the project-based curriculum, and problem solve around the theme “Imagineering Your Future.” Rugenal Anderson-Lindsey, a veteran middle school educator, will serve as camp director. Henley and Anderson-Lindsey will give traditionally underrepresented groups access to STEM knowledge and opportunities. Camp leaders will place special recruiting emphasis on the state’s most diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Additionally, ����Vlog��ýLR students, particularly those involved in the African American Male Initiative, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Hispanic/Latino Initiative, will be selected as group leaders for the camp. Participants will stay on campus and attend classes and labs in ����Vlog��ýLR’s state-of-the-art instructional spaces. These classroom experiences will be interdisciplinary and interactive, covering math, chemistry, biology, physical science, engineering design, technology, and English. The students will also tackle a major hands-on collaborative project on environmental engineering. When they’re not engaging in these lessons, the students will visit culturally and scientifically significant sites that are directly related to their camp project. For more information, visit . In the upper right photo, past participants of the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at ����Vlog��ýLR test structural engineering skills by building a water tower. ]]>