Summer Camps

This session, taught by renowned Professor Ray Taghavi, will introduce aerospace engineering concepts and their applications, ranging from the forces and moments acting on an airplane in flight; to the principles of operation of piston, jet, and rocket engines; and supersonic flight.  Classes will be interactive, featuring wind tunnel testing, water tunnel testing, running a jet engine simulator, flying an aircraft simulator, and visiting the Aerospace Engineering Department’s flight test facilities at the airport, and observing operational drones, aircraft, and other devices.

Bioengineering is an exciting, and rapidly growing field.  This faculty-led camp will explore both the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ sides of bioengineering, ranging from tissue engineering to medical device design.  Students will be introduced to biomaterials, piezoelectrics, implantable devices, and a host of other biomedical applications through hands-on work and engagement.

Chemical and Petroleum Engineering is critical to solving the challenges facing our world including energy sustainability, reducing carbon emissions, sustainable use of resources, recycling plastics, and the role of Artificial Intelligence and data science in the chemical and energy industry.  Students in this session will participate in hands-on laboratory activities with expert professors to learn engineering concepts and applications on the cutting edge of the chemical and petroleum engineering industry.  Students will also be exposed to pilot scale processes including a production plant for converting used cooking oil into biofuel and a 30-foot distillation tower.

Civil Engineering plays a critical role in our daily lives, from the roads we drive on to the water we drink. This camp will give participants hands-on experience in aspects of civil engineering, including architectural, structural, environmental, water resource, geotechnical, and transportation engineering.

The summer camp offers exciting hands-on games to learn some of the basic concepts related to electronic hardware. The hands-on games offer engaging, thought-provoking,and collaborative learning. Students will learn about binary numbers, logic gates, memory, and hardware programming by playing the games.

The Electrical Engineering summer camp is a project-based camp with two main focuses: 1. Wireless signals & systems and 2. Lasers and applications. During the first half of the camp, students will learn how to transmit data over the air using Software-Defined Radios (SDR). During the second half of the camp, students will be introduced to fundamentals of a laser system, its properties, and applications. Topics such as light frequency, refraction and polarization phenomena will be discussed, and the students will have the opportunity to work on several projects including building a 3D cinema.

The camp provides students with hands-on lab experience and tours of several state-of-the-art labs hosted in the University of Kansas Mechanical Engineering Department, particularly including labs focusing on Automobiles, Batteries, Controls, and Fuel cells. Over the week of camp, students will develop a basic understanding and the ability to gain research experience in energy literacy within a cooperative-learning environment. The camp covers several topics, including but not limited to energy generation, storage and conversion, and energy policy.

We have so many families sending their camper out of state to attend camp! We're excited to be reaching prospective Jayhawks from not just all over the country but globally as well. KU Engineering Summer Camp will not provide any travel accommodations and it is the responsibility of the participant's family to plan their travel to the University of Kansas. While we do not provide travel accommodations, the University of Kansas recommends the following services: 

• Uber
• Lyft 
• https://www.flykci.com/getting-to-from/ground-transportation/shuttle-services/
• Visiting and Living in Lawrence | International Affairs (ku.edu)
• BATS-KCI: Better Alternative Transportation Service to and from KCI (kcibats.com)
• SDM - SDM Transportation (sdmtransportationks.com)
• 5Guys Transportation
• Airport Transportation Made Simple | Book a Ride | SuperShuttle 
• Arrival – KCI Airport Shuttle – Ride Share Service (arivalshuttle.com)

If your camper is unable to check in at the scheduled arrival time (Sunday between 2:30 and 4:00 PM central), please email engrsummercamp@ku.edu to make additional arrangements. 

Please Note: KU Engineering summer Camps is unable to provide housing for campers outside of scheduled camp days. If your camper plans to arrive before the camp week starts or stay later than the camp week, please arrange for housing arrangements elsewhere.

Camp is a five nights and six days, please pack accordingly. There is very little time spent in the residence halls, so there is no need to bring more than what is listed in the following pages unless it is deemed personally necessary. 

Residence Hall

• Pillow
• Blanket 
• Towel/wash cloth
• Toiletries (toothbrush, shampoo, sunscreen, etc)
• Pajamas
• Phone/charger

Clothing

• Lab clothing (all are required for lab participation)
  • Closed-toe shoes
  • Long pants
  • Clothes you don't mind getting dirty
• Evening
  • Athletic/comfortable clothing
  • Comfortable shoes for walking
  • light jacket

Activities

• Umbrella
• Calculator
• Backpack
• Pencils/pens
• Notebook
• Money (optional)
• Medications (as necessary)

Other Considerations:

• Campers will be given a t-shirt and water bottle 
• Linens (sheets/pillowcases) are provided; additional bedding is optional
• Weather varies! Pack for drastic weather changes in mind along with checking the forecast before arrival
• Campers may want to bring cash or credit card for vending machines or bookstore purchases
• Participants are prohibited from packing televisions, game consoles, exercise equipment, mini-fridges, trunks, etc.

If you did not indicate special accommodation requests at the time of registering your camper, please email engrsummercamp@ku.edu with your requests. This can include, but is not limited to:

• Medical needs 
• Dietary assistance (for food allergies, medical, religious purposes, etc)
• Gender inclusive housing 
• Late arrival/early departure

Check-in

Campers will be staying in Self Hall for camps. You may drop your camper off or they may check themselves in anytime between 2:30 and 4 PM on Sunday. Please note that the Opening Reception on Sunday will begin at 4:30 PM in building LEEP2, right down the hill. You and/or your student may park in 101, 103, 104 and 105, which are the closest lots to Self Hall. Please note that campers will not use their own cars for the duration of camp.  

Check-out

The last session on Friday is the Family Ceremony 1:30-2:30 PM. Family members are invited to attend, as that will be a time for campers to showcase the things they’ve learned over the duration of camp and the projects they’ve worked on. Free parking will be available in lots 101, 103, 104 and 105, or you may pay to park closer in the Allen Fieldhouse Parking Garage. The first hour is $1.75 and all subsequent hours are $1.50.

Family members are welcome to retrieve their campers packed bags in Self Hall prior to the family ceremony between 12 PM and 1 PM, but you may also retrieve bags directly following the parent ceremony at 2:30 PM.  .