Jump Start Juniors attendees see STEM in action

Students attending an annual STEM expo at Capitol Technology University saw a demo of advanced-level drones and got a firsthand look at technology that can scan human thoughts, among other activities Friday (May 4).

The Jump Start Juniors expo, hosted by Capitol each spring, provides a showcase of academic and career paths in computer science, technology, engineering and math and offers participants a glimpse into life at an engineering and tech-focused university.

During a session at Capitol’s new Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) workshop, researchers on the project demonstrated not only that machines can be equipped to read minds, but that humans can be wired to control devices directly with their thoughts.

Two Capitol professors, Dr. Garima Bajwa and Dr. Jason M. Pittman, are conducting NSF-funded research in this area, with a particular focus on the security risks.

For the participants, it was an opportunity for an up-close look at something they may have read about but not witnessed firsthand.

 “There’s a wow factor involved in someone trying to hack your brain,” said Meghan Young, director of admissions. “A number of the students who came said they had never seen something like this before.”

Approximately 100 students from STEM high schools in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC attended the expo and had an opportunity to discover what Capitol has to offer. In addition to the drone and brain-machine interface demos, they also saw astronautical engineers command virtual spacecraft at Capitol’s Space Flight Operations Training Center (SFOTC), and learned – during a session at the university’s Cyber Lab – some of the techniques cyber warriors use to battle hackers.

Capping the event, drone operators from Textron Corporation – which is partnering with Capitol to develop undergraduate and graduate programs in unmanned and automated systems – piloted some of the industry’s biggest and wildest drones before a rapt crowd on the Capitol campus.

The event brought home a signature aspect of Capitol’s approach to engineering and technology education: an emphasis on hands-on.

Programs at the university are designed not only to teach students concepts and knowledge, but to give them solid practice in applying that knowledge – often to areas that are at the cusp of innovation.

“These kinds of demos convey to the students, in a really striking way, the potential that exists in the engineering and tech fields that we specialize in here at Capitol. These are the kinds of technological innovations that they would be working with, should they come here for their university education,” Young said.

Interested in learning more about the exciting, cutting-edge programs at Capitol? Contact admissions@captechu.edu for more information.