In Oak Ridge, Tenn., summer camp and outer space go together, and the excitement over science becomes palpable.
The campers of the Y-12 sponsored summer camp get to examine pieces of debris from the space shuttle Columbia using Y-12's large chamber scanning electron microscope (LC-SEM), located at a technology development park near Y-12's campus.
It's an opportunity materials scientists around the world could only wish for. "I feel like I'm making history," said student Hubert Gibson.
For the past two summers, Y-12 has helped run a five-day materials science camp for up to 22 local high school students. The goal: getting students excited about materials science and engineering.
Steve Dekanich of Y-12's quality assurance division co-organized the two camps and arranged for the shuttle specimens to be brought to Oak Ridge, along with NASA engineers Steve McDanels and Rick Russell, who spoke and worked with the students.
Dekanich wanted students to go home with a solid understanding of failure analysis, the study of why something blew up, broke down or fell apart, and the steps to keep it from happening again.
"These kids are getting to work on a spacecraft," said NASA's Russell. "When I studied failure analysis in school, we worked on broken can openers or propeller shafts."
The students follow a cut plan approved by NASA and examine small cross sections of the debris, studying the microstructure and how the metal changed due to extreme heat.
Five of the students created and entered a poster describing their results that won first place in the student category and third place overall in the International Metallographic Society's poster competition.
"I've been in failure analysis for almost 30 years and never seen anything like it," Dekanich said. "This camp is all about getting the kids excited. We have to continuously renew our professional population by introducing kids to great career opportunities."
Other support for the camp came from the Oak Ridge chapter of ASM International, the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee Material Advantage student chapter. Information about the 2008 materials camp can be found at www.y12.doe.gov/capabilities/lcsem/materialscamp.php.
Steve Dekanich of the Y-12 National Security Complex explains the science behind the analysis of the space shuttle debris. (Click image to enlarge)
