EUGENE, Ore. -- (Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013) -- More than 30 Lane County teachers and other education experts will meet Friday at Eugene electric car maker Arcimoto, Inc., to power their teaching of science, technology, engineering and math.
“Solar Challenge: Designing, Testing and Racing Solar Electric Vehicles” is one of the projects that teachers will introduce to seventh and eighth graders next year to inspire interest in STEM curriculum. During Friday’s training, representatives from Arcimoto and the Eugene Water and Electric Board will work with teachers to develop a classroom project wherein students design, build and race small-scale, solar photovoltaic-powered electric vehicles.
The group will meet between 9:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. at Arcimoto, 544 Blair Blvd., and EWEB, 500 E. Fourth Ave.
The group will also experiment with photovoltaic panels and the conversion of light to electricity during a meeting with UO faculty and STEM specialists from 1:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Bailey Hill Center, 2295 Four Oaks Grange Road.
Oregon seeks to double the number of college degrees in science, technology, engineering and math by 2030. The University of Oregon Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Careers through Outreach, Research and Education – UO STEM CORE – partners with educators, school districts, industry and government to improve instruction and funding for STEM programs.
“Electric cars and solar power are our future,” said Dean Livelybrooks, a UO faculty leader for the center. “Arcimoto and EWEB engineers clearly find the development of these key technologies to be both stimulating and challenging – our job is to help them share the fun with teachers and their students, growing intrinsic motivation for STEM careers and learning in schools.”
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cooper, UO media relations, 541-346-8875, mattc@uoregon.edu
SOURCE: Dean Livelybrooks, UO STEM CORE, 541-346-5855, dlivelyb@uoregon.edu
Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with satellite uplink capacity, and a radio studio with an ISDN phone line for broadcast-quality radio interviews.