The CLA serves by assisting businesses in development and implementation of technology, and by increasing interest in STEM education.
Since 2015, the CLA has been dedicated to impacting the community in a positive way with meaningful interactions. The CLA laboratory hosts multiple STEM-focused adult groups, such as the Coffee County Leadership Program and the Precision Machinists.
Faculty, staff and graduate students contribute by developing STEM-related educational materials, camps, and enrichment programs, made available to local teachers and all levels of students.
Graduate students travel to schools in the community for events such as Friday School at Sewanee Elementary, Fantastic Fridays at Cowan Middle School, and the Science Club at Shelbyville High School.
2020 Outreach Highlights
- UTSI hosted a public Star Party on November 1, 2020, with “over 150 in attendance” which had a large K-12 presence. Graduate students conducted STEM activities, such as straw rockets, with school-age children during this event.
- GRA student, Adam Croft, wrote a STEM script on conservation laws on mass, momentum, and energy, for the Hands-On Science Center, a hands-on, interactive STEM center, located in Tullahoma, TN.
- GRA student, Samuel Smith and his squadron commander, led a monthly Civil Air Patrol meeting, with 10- 20 children, ages 12-18, to discuss and teach aviation or space-related topics. Prior to COVID, Smith helped the children work together on STEM kits – quadcopters, model rocketry, and RC aircraft.
