The Infinity Project, created by Texas Instruments and the SMU School of Engineering, is an innovative program that sparks students to pursue careers in engineering and technology. Infinity is the first program of its kind in the country to help school districts incorporate state-of-the art engineering and advanced technology into the high school classroom. Because of its success, Infinity also is being taught at both the junior college and university level with exciting results.
For high school students, the Infinity Project curriculum is incorporated into a yearlong class offered to sophomores, juniors or seniors who have completed Algebra II and one lab science course. The class focuses on the math and science fundamentals of the information revolution. It uses a textbook titled Engineering Our Digital Future that was developed specifically for this class. College students reap the same benefits and also gain the elements that help them realize how enticing a career in engineering can be.
For the 2006-2007 school year, 275 high schools in 36 states and the District of Columbia are participating in the Infinity Project, along with schools in five countries outside the US. Additionally, 17 higher education institutes in Texas began offering the class as part of the Texas Technology Workforce Development grant program. Collin County Community College District also adopted the program in 2003.
The Infinity Project is one of several programs sponsored by The Institute for Engineering Education at SMU, which was created in 2002 to facilitate collaboration among universities, K-12 educational organizations and corporate entities to address the issues related to the shortfall in engineering and technical talent expected in the coming years.
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Fast Facts:
- Makes math and science more relevant to high school students by teaching real-world applications such as MP3 players and digital cameras in conjunction with textbooks.
- First-of-its-kind program.
- Great example of business, university and local school districts partnering to improve educational opportunities.
- Helps fill the pipeline with potential engineering students.
Participating states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico. North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Participating countries: Australia, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico and Portugal.
For additional information, visit the Infinity web site at www.infinity-project.org. At TI, contact Torrence Robinson, t-robinson4@ti.com
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