General
SLA’s CTE Engineering program provides students with 1,080 hours of classwork, projects, internships, culminating in a senior capstone project. SLA engineers study a broad range of disciplines including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, industrial design/fabrication, CAD, and programming. The rigorous three-year sequence challenges young people to apply the scientific method to understand the world, solve problems using that knowledge, and design new products.
Senior Year
In their senior year, students form a small engineering firm based on their area of interest and examine the ways that engineers identify, define, and solve problems. Typically, engineers gravitate to big problems and challenging solutions. Example projects have included designing a solar water purification system for use in Cambodia, refining the design of a solar cooker used in Madagascar to allow for broader use, and designing/building a living wall in collaboration with the CTE program at Benjamin Franklin High School.
Robotics Club
In conjunction with the CTE program, SLA sponsors a year-round Engineering and Robotics club, which hosts FRC Robotics team 4454. Our school’s team prepares for the annual robotics build season, where they have six weeks to build a competitive robot from scratch, and then compete against teams throughout the region to complete that year’s challenge. Learns more about the Engineering and Robotics club here: https://tinyurl.com/SLA-Engineering-Club.