Program Overview
This video gives you a sneak peek at what happened during a previous SMU CSI Summer Camp and an idea of some of the activities we will have during the 2012 Camps.
This summer, SMU’s Caruth Institute for Engineering Education will host two sessions of the SMU CSI Summer Camp. Each of the two sessions will consist of activities that are presented in a five-day format that introduces students to the technology behind biometrics and crime scene investigation (CSI).
The program will combine hands-on activities related to biometrics and crime scene investigation as well as a collection of presentations from law enforcement officials and forensic scientists. Each day of camp is broken into multiple sessions related to a topic of the day. Students will hear a variety of speakers, do hands-on activities and play games related to the day’s topic. Topics include iris recognition, paper chromatography, fingerprints, face recognition, DNA and many more!
Each camp will include up to 60 students that will be broken into four CSI Units of 15 students each. Each CSI Unit will have a Camp Teacher/Mentor and Camp Counselor to help guide the teams through activities. The camps will be held Monday-Friday from 9:00am – 2:00pm on SMU’s campus in Caruth Hall. Snacks and lunch will be provided every day for the campers. This camp is free for all campers selected to attend!
Session 1: SMU CSI-Girls Summer Camp
will be held July 9-13, 2012
Session 2: SMU CSI-Boys Summer Camp
will be held July 16-20, 2012
Check out our camp flyers and share them with your friends, classmates, family and colleagues!
Join our Community
The SMU CSI Summer Camps are just one piece of the education outreach initiatives within the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education.
Join our web based community, Kids Ahead, at KidsAhead.com and learn about Crime Scene Investigation, Robotics, Extreme Weather, Video Games and Wind Energy!
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Camper participation in the 2012 SMU CSI Summer Camps will be open only to students from partner Charter Schools and as a result there will be no open enrollment period for this summer’s camps.
If you are interested in CSI and want to find other events and camps in the Dallas area check out www.kidsahead.com.
We will still be accepting applications for middle school teachers and undergraduate student counselors through APRIL 16, 2012.
Teacher Application (PDF) – For Middle School science and math teachers who want to help teach the campers and take a CSI kit back to your school!
Counselor Application (PDF) – For SMU students who want to help teachers with each CSI Unit as counselors!
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The goal of the camps is to highlight a variety of topics through hands-on activities focused on the key roles of science, technology and engineering in forensics and real-life problem solving.
Not only are these topics fascinating, they suggest many possible applications and careers for the future. Speakers will inspire students and serve as role models throughout the week and give students a unique opportunity to learn about the science and technology behind crime scene investigation. Games will reinforce the concepts from the camp and give students the opportunity to have hands-on experience with some of the forensics tasks discussed such as fingerprinting, iris recognition and deception. Our goal is that students will be motivated to pursue STEM-related careers and STEM-related coursework, and spread this excitement to other friends and classmates as well.
The content of the activities is designed to challenge the students in the following ways:
1. Emphasize critical thinking skills to help teach students how to think — not just what to think — in the areas of STEM education, specifically in the forensics and biometrics disciplines
2. Assess students’ current knowledge and skills through activities and builds upon it through hands-on experience
3. Encourage students to conceptualize real-world issues or questions and coach the students to seek possible resolutions or explanations
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The SMU CSI Summer Camps will have an immediate impact on the students and teachers involved in each of the camps.
Our hope is that the campers and counselors take what they learn during the activities and share it with their friends and classes.
The biometrics/forensic activities during the camp will:
1. Actively engage students
2. Allow students to have personal experiences with individuals/professional who work in STEM-related positions
3. Provide differentiated instruction to accommodate different learning styles
4. Enhance learning in interdisciplinary subjects such as social science, the arts, reading, math, etc.
A very important part of the impact of this proposed program is the ability to connect the CSI Camp activities and demonstrations to other middle school kids across the nation through the Kids Ahead web portal that has been developed by the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education. This web portal was designed to give middle-school kids access to exciting projects, demonstrations, videos and activities that have been developed around the country. We will take many of the activities, curriculum and materials from the camp and make them accessible from Kids Ahead. This allows the summer program to impact potentially thousands of kids around the country.
Our Team
The SMU CSI Summer Camps are sponsored by the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at Southern Methodist University and the Office of Naval Research within the Department of the Navy. Through the Board of Advisors for the Caruth Institute, we have a far reaching and very influential group of people helping us achieve our goals.
- Frank Cappuccio
Frank Cappuccio
Executive Vice President & General Manager of Advanced Development Programs and Strategic Planning, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
- David Chard
David Chard
Leon Simmons Endowed Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Southern Methodist University
- General John Dailey
General John Dailey
Director, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, former Marine
- Gano Ehlers
Gano Ehlers
A leader in STEM education for over 25 years
- Norman Fortenberry
Norman Fortenberry
Founding Director of the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education at the National Academy of Engineering
- Gene Frantz
Gene Frantz
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Principal Fellow
- Sherwin Greenblatt
Sherwin Greenblatt
Former President, Bose Corporation and current Director of the MIT Venture Mentoring Service
- Gary Payton
Gary Payton
Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs, former Astronaut
- Sue Payton
Sue Payton
Former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, and President SCI Aerospace Incorporated
- B. J. Penn
B. J. Penn
Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, former Navy pilot
- Loretta Penn
Loretta Penn
President of Sherion Staffing Services
- Torrence Robinson
Torrence Robinson
Director of Education and Workforce for Texas Instruments
- Maxine Savitz
Maxine Savitz
Retired General Manager of Technology Partnerships at Honeywell, Incorporated
- Mary Templeton
Mary Templeton
Philathropist and volunteer for civic agencies and organizations that support education and medical care in Dallas, TX
- Karen Shuford
Karen Shuford
Charitable trust consultant, leader and volunteer for civic agencies and organizations that support medical care, education and the arts in Dallas, Texas
- Carole Young
Carole Young
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Medical City Dallas Hospital, member of the Executive Committee of the Chancellor’s Council of The University of Texas System, and as a member of The Presidents’ Circle of The National Academies
- Jim Young
Jim Young
Former Executive Assistant to the Chairman of EDS. Currently serves or has served on the boards, advisory councils, and/or executive committees, including Kipp Schools
About Our Founder
Delores Etter, Ph.D.
The founder of the SMU CSI Summer Camps is Dr. Delores M. Etter—an engineer, scientist and innovative leader and the director of SMU's new Caruth Institute for Engineering Education and the Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education.
Dr. Etter previously served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition as well as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. She has a long and distinguished dedication to national security, education and innovation. Her many initiatives are aimed at ensuring all young people are able to have fun, interesting, and challenging experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
You can learn more about where she works by going to http://www.smu.edu/lyle.aspx (click on the K-12 tab at the top to find out more about her programs for young people).
View Dr. Etter's Bio [pdf]
You can also get involved and learn more about our initiatives by connecting with SMU online!
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