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Session Description

Free ticketed event
This workshop introduces high school teachers to a modified CanSat program designed to enhance STEM education through hands-on, project-based learning. CanSat, originally developed by Professor Robert Twiggs at Stanford University, is a soda can–sized model satellite that simulates real satellite missions in a compact and accessible form. While CanSat has traditionally been used in university-level competitions, this workshop adapts the program for secondary education, equipping teachers with the tools and strategies needed to integrate CanSat into their classrooms.
The 2.5-hour workshop provides participants with practical experience assembling and programming a simplified CanSat, collecting and analyzing sensor data, and exploring approaches for classroom adaptation. Teachers will also learn strategies for aligning CanSat activities with state and national STEM standards, fostering teamwork among students, and overcoming barriers related to cost, time, and technical skill levels.
The program has been successfully piloted in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, with 15 students, inspiring the local community and receiving coverage from three media outlets. Building on this success, the proposed workshop seeks to empower educators as facilitators, thereby expanding the impact of CanSat beyond individual classrooms to broader STEM engagement at the community level.

Speakers

1. Chanraksmey Lay

   Bucknell University

   Chanraksmey (SooAh) Lay is an aspiring mechanical engineer with a passion for hands-on learning and inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. She recently conducted a summer research project through Bucknell University program titled “Bringing Space to Classrooms: A Modified Hands-On CanSat Program for Promoting STEM Education and Career Aspirations.” Her work focuses on making space and engineering education more accessible by translating real-world satellite concepts into engaging, classroom-friendly activities for middle school through high school students.

   Beyond her research, SooAh is actively involved in engineering outreach, mentorship, and student-led design initiatives. She is driven by a desire to bridge technical innovation with educational impact, particularly in communities where access to STEM opportunities is limited. Through her studies and continued involvement in aerospace-related projects, she hopes to contribute to the advancement of space technology while empowering young students to pursue futures in science and engineering.

2. Jude Okolie

   Bucknell University

   Dr. Jude Okolie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Bucknell University, USA. He received his M.Sc. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London, United Kingdom, in 2015, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
   Dr. Okolie has several years of experience in teaching, research, and curriculum development at both graduate and undergraduate levels. He has taught courses including Sustainable Energy Systems and Engineering Design at the University of Oklahoma, as well as Materials Science, Data Science for Chemical Engineering, and Heat and Mass Transfer at Bucknell University. At the University of Saskatchewan, he taught Thermodynamics and Process Simulation and Control. His teaching philosophy emphasizes experiential and active learning, encouraging students to integrate critical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving in addressing real-world engineering challenges.
   His research interests include sustainable energy systems, carbon capture and utilization (CCU), circular economy approaches, and the upcycling of spent lithium-ion batteries into lithium orthosilicate (Li₄SiO₄) sorbent–catalyst materials for integrated CO₂ capture and syngas production. Dr. Okolie has published more than 70 papers in reputable peer-reviewed journals on topics such as techno-economic modeling of decarbonization pathways, sustainable process design, and advanced materials for CO₂ capture. His research integrates fundamental science, applied engineering, and policy analysis to advance low-carbon technologies.

3. Dr. Rebecca Thomas

   Bucknell University

   Dr. Rebecca Thomas is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Bucknell University. She is also the inaugural director of Bucknell's university-wide ePortfolio initiative, the Pathways Program, which she helped establish and launch in 2021. The program promotes reflective thinking throughout students’ undergraduate experiences, encouraging exploration of both academic and personal growth. She holds a B.S. and M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University.

   Dr. Thomas’s teaching and research center on STEM Pedagogy, with emphasis on supporting underrepresented groups and advancing reflection as a critical component of learning. Her work has been presented nationally through AAC&U, ASEE, and IEEE FIE, among others. Her research reflects a belief that preparing students to address complex, interdisciplinary problems that are societally important requires both deep reflection and structural change within engineering education.

   She has extensive experience teaching circuits and lab courses to students across six different engineering majors and has also taught a first-year design course centered on designing, constructing and coding an Internet of Things sensing platform. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes student-centered learning, active participation, and peer interaction, with a commitment to making engineering more accessible.