MCSI PARTNERSHIPS CREATE PUBLIC GOOD FROM UNIVERSITY EDUCATION & RESEARCH

Lincoln Elementary Fun Day

In March 2023, Savannah Denlinger and Esmée de Cortie attended Lincoln Elementary School’s Fun Day to provide K-5 students with STEAM programming as part of station rotations. Students built simple circuits using conductive playdough and LED lights to bring their clay creations to life.

Uniontown Area High School Visits MCSI

MCSI hosted a group of Uniontown Area High School students and their teacher, Mrs. Baker, at the University of Pittsburgh. The entire class toured campus, learned about engineering and sustainability, attend a question and answer session with current Pitt students, and had lunch with the MCSI team.

Oasis Farm & Fishery Volunteer Days

Four Oasis Farm & Fishery volunteer days in the 2022-23 school year, supporting this local community garden and educational center in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Facilitated by Dr. David Sanchez and MCSI Community Engagement Intern Sophie Lex, volunteers helped with farm needs, including planting and harvesting crops in raised soil beds and the aquaponics shed. Additional tasks included as well as helping the farm prepare for the winter season and creating woodchip paths, a tree and permaculture garden, a pollinator garden, and a mushroom spore cultivator. Across 4 weekend days, 82 student volunteers assisted with the work. MCSI also worked closely with Hydroponics Club and Engineers without Borders (2 Pitt student organizations) Primary motivation for the volunteer days was completing construction of a 24’ x 48’ high tunnel greenhouse funded by a grant Pitt Year of Engagement grant received by MCSI. Volunteers consumed lunch from Everyday Café, a local business in Homewood.

Franklin Regional Future Cities Mentoring

Nicole Bell (Civil & Environmental Engineering doctoral candidate and MCSI fellow) mentored a group of Franklin Regional Middle School students participating in the annual Future City competition. Their designed city *named “New-New Kensington”), won the award for “Most Creative Use of Recyclable Material ”

Pitt Hydroponics

MCSI sponsors the University of Pittsburgh’s Hydroponics Club, which is advised by Dr. David Sanchez. Over the past year, Pitt Hydroponics worked to build and maintain a hydroponic greenhouse inside of a garage in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. This microclimate will allow them to grow fresh produce year-round. Project funding was provided by Pitt Green Fund and installation completes in Spring 2023. Pitt Hydroponics continues to donate their produce to Homewood’s Everyday Cafe

Allegheny Traditional Academy Sustainability Education & Pitt Visit

Two years ago, Allegheny Traditional Academy (ATA) partnered with The Efficiency Network on energy efficiency upgrades to their school building. To help students better understand changes to their school, eighth grade science students participated in a series of MCSI educational modules focused on the connection between engineering, building performance, and human comfort. Prior to teaching these modules in 2023, Savannah and Esmée helped judge ATA’s middle school science fair After a series of lessons, ATA 8th grade students visited Pitt’s campus to learn about sustainability and engineering careers, after which they toured various a makerspace, an environmental lab, the Cathedral of Learning, and learned about sustainable practices at Pitt

“Allegheny‘s partnership with Pitt has been all I hoped it would be... I am grateful to the University of Pittsburgh and Savannah’s team for investing in our students, many of whom would never have an opportunity like this if it were not for our school’s partnership with Pitt.”