VIDEO: ITI Summer Camp Teaches High Schoolers about Infrastructure

This summer, more than a dozen middle and high school students arrived at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science for the Infrastructure Technology Institute (ITI) Summer Infrastructure Camp.

During the weeklong camp, students heard lectures from professors, took part in engineering activities (like building computer-simulated bridges), and learned about local infrastructure through field trips to O’Hare International Airport, the Belt Railway Company of Chicago, and downtown Chicago.

“It was an extremely fun experience,” said Elizabeth Ringhausen, an eighth grader who participated in the camp. “It was educational at the same time and it was nice to be around people who share the same interests… It also gave me an opportunity to speak to the professors here and a number of undergraduate and graduate students.”

Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the Infrastructure Technology Institute at Northwestern develops advanced methods for monitoring infrastructure condition and performance to assist owners and operators with critical decisions concerning structural integrity, renewal, and rehabilitation.

“Engineering infrastructure and transportation infrastructure are really very interesting and very exciting and very cool,” said ITI director Joseph Schofer. “Bringing in a group of high school students for a week and sharing those interests and our enthusiasm with them is something we really enjoy.”