Grainger CEME

“How many have seen magic?”
It seemed an unusual question, especially from someone whose daily life revolves around the very real world of engineering, but to Arijit Banerjee, “Engineering is magic.”
“Every day when I come to work, it’s like Disneyland.”
The electrical and computer engineering (ECE) assistant professor spoke to 25 of the 300 Illinois teens visiting the University of Illinois campus as part of 4-H Illini Summer Academies.
Illinois 4-H provides the five-day college experience to help high school teens build relationships with U of I staff as the teens explore college majors and potential careers. In addition to coursework, the participants stay in dorms, explore campus, and experience many outside activities common to a college student’s life.
Professor Lynford Goddard coordinates the ECE activities in order to show youth the breadth of the department, from basic circuits and optical elements to control theory and power grids. “Our sincere hope is that you come here and replace us,” said Subhonmesh Bose, ECE assistant professor. “All the knowledge we have today will be obsolete when you are our age.”
Cooperating campus departments have 17 hours with the teens throughout the week. The departments can also recruit students one-on-one. Many who got their first introduction to the university during this conference later enrolled as college students.
Excerpted from: https://4h.extension.illinois.edu/our-stories/news/knowledge-magic