SMCM Solar Cell STEM Camp

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Materials Science is offering a 1-week summer STEM camp for 25-30 high school students in Southern Maryland. The opportunity will have the highest impact for students from Great Mills, Leonardtown, Patuxent, St. Mary’s Ryken and Chopticon high schools. This camp will be free of charge for students including lunches at the campus center, and will be coordinated, instructed and chaperoned by SMCM faculty and undergraduate students. High school students of any grade are welcome to apply.

• Location: Schaefer Hall, 47645 College Dr, St Mary’s City, MD 20686   
• Dates: June 26 - 30
• Duration: 1 week (M-F)
• Time: 9 am – 3 pm
• Lunch: Provided
• Cost: Free         
• Students: ~25 high school students
• Professors: 3 SMCM STEM professors
• Assistants: 2 SMCM STEM students
• Application Deadline: June 1, 2023
• Send questions to Dr. Troy K. Townsend
• tktownsend@smcm.edu

Students will be introduced to a college-level laboratory experience with hands-on activities, safety training, and in-person instruction from SMCM’s faculty members. Centered around a renewable energy theme, students will design and build solar powered racecars. While learning about current state of the art solar cell technology, the physics and biology of solar power, students will use a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program to draw their own racecar models and bring them to life with 3D printing, followed by testing and evaluating and re-designing. In the process, they will collaborate with each other and with faculty to develop and test solar cell devices in the sunlight, learn about friction, mass, and power. Each student team of students will be able to test different materials and solar cells to optimize their design. They will also be exposed to the chemistry of state-of-the-art solar cell devices and tour the SMCM chemistry laboratories, and coding for computer-controlled microprocessors to program motors, LEDs and sensors. Learning outcomes include project management skills, communication, group collaboration, team building activities, technical laboratory skills, lab safety and an introduction to renewable energy, conservation and nanotechnology