Dr. Bruce Wang and Dr. Ivan Damnjanovic, professors in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, took time to speak with the engineers of the future. Wang made a visit to a first grade class at Rock Prairie Elementary in College Station, Texas, and Damnjanovic visited the Dolphins and Seahorses class at the Becky Gates Children Center on the Texas A&M campus to talk to the children about civil engineering.
Wang introduced students to civil engineering and more specifically what his career entailed. Wang explained his international journey from China, eliciting questions and piquing the interests of the children. After the presentation, the children were excited to receive souvenirs for remembering the two areas of civil engineering that Wang spoke to them about — transportation and water resources.
Damnjanovic’s guest lecture to the preschool class introduced the children to his job as an engineer. His presentation centered on building a paper bridge to show the children how to use the same materials in different ways to build stronger bridges. Damnjanovic built simple span, arch, prestressed and suspension bridges, although the suspension bridge did deviate from the paper to include some Lego towers.
The department is proud to support early introduction to STEM education, no matter how early.
Contributing author: Ryan Terry