• Our Mission

    STEM bridge program aims to create synergies in STEM education by providing high-school students hands-on study experience with current university professors at local universities for a consecutive 6 to 7 weeks STEM related researching and study program.

     

    "[Science] is more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world, and then have the capacity to change that world..."

    * President Barack Obama, March 23, 2015

  • STEM Motivational Video

    Take a look and enjoy!

  • What can CAST's STEM bridge do for you?

    Organized by CAST-TX, the program is collectively led by 10 – 15 hosting professors, each professor will form a 4-5 students study group to research on a STEM related topic that has been or will be offered in the university classes.

    Students will get great exposure to real research environment and being inspired for creative thinking.

    6-7 weeks hands-on experience

    Before the class starts, students will choose a research topic, and form a study group with other students in the program that share the similar interest.

    Once the study group is formed, the group and together with the assigned professor will decide on the details of how the research will be conducted.

    Students will be able to use the university classroom, research equipment, and labs under professors’ supervision.

    Competition for Awards

    STEM bridge Summer Camp program will host a final symposium for students to showcase their research result.

    At the symposium, students will compete for CAST STAR (Science, Tech, Academic Researcher) Awards and the winner will receive STAR trophy.

    Students who completed the program will also receive a certificate of completion issued by CAST-TX.

    STEM Skills Development

    By working with professors and researchers in the lab, students will develop a variety of skills that are essential for STEM students to succeed in collage, such as literature search, data collection, data analysis, design of experiments, technical writing, presentation, and problem-solving, etc.

     

    Non-profit & for the future of our children

    The hosting professors are all volunteering their time to sponsor CAST STEM bridge Summer Camp program. Each hosting professor will use their own resources and leverage their expertise to maximize the impact they can bring to the community. All CAST STEM bridge organizers and workers are all volunteers. We are here for the community and our children’s future.

  • Directors

    Dr. Dong Qian

    Director of STEM Bridge

    Professor of Mechanical Engineering,

    UT Dallas

     

    UTD 001

     

    Research interests:

    Computational Mechanics, Multiscale Methods and Applications, Surface Engineering

     

    dong.qian@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr.Stefano Leonardi

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Professor Of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 002

     

    Research interests:

    Turbulence, Computational Fluid Mechanics, Wind Energy, Drag Reduction, Super Hydrophobic surfaces, Heat transfer

     

    stefano.leonardi@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Baowei Fei

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Director, Center for Imaging and Surgical Innovation, UT Dallas

    UTD 003

     

    Research interests:

    Biomedical imaging and computing, Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, Quantitative imaging: image processing & analysis, segmentation, classification, and registration

    bfei@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Hongbing Lu

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Louis A. Beecherl Jr. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 004

     

    Research interests:

    Experimental mechanics, Nanomechanics, Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, Mechanical Behavior of Nanomaterials, Dynamic behavior of materials, Fracture Mechanics

     

    Hongbing.lu@utdallas.edu

     

     

    Dr. Weili Wu

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 005

     

    Research interests:

    Big Data Management and Analysis, Social Networks, Database Systems, Wireless Sensor Networks, Data Mining, Spatial Data Mining, Parallel and Distributed Systems, Algorithm Design and Analysis and Bioinformatics

     

    weiliwu@utdallas.edu

     

     

    Dr. Golden Kumar

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 006

     

    Research interests:

    Nanomanufacturing, Metallic Glasses, Nanomechanics, Surface Engineering, Phase Transformations, and Photothermal Properties

     

    Golden.Kumar@utdallas.edu

     

     

    Dr. Xiaohu Guo

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Professor of Computer Science, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 007

     

    Research interests:

    Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Geometric Modeling and Processing, Physics-Based Deformation, Medical Image Computation, 3D/4D Reconstruction

     

    xguo@utdallas.edu

    Dr. Xianming (Simon) Dai

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 008

     

    Research interests:

    Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Wetting, Nanofabrication, and Thermal Management

     

    Dai@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Zhenpeng Qin

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 009

     

    Research interests:

    Biotransport, Neuro Nanotechnology, Point-of-Care Diagnostics

     

    zhenpeng.qin@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Wei Li

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 010

     

    Research interests:

    Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, Onsite repair and remanufacturing with AM process, Fabrication and characterization of customized alloy with multi-materials

     

    wei.li@utdallas.edu

    Dr. Jie Zhang

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 011

     

    Research interests:

    Multidisciplinary design optimization, complex engineered systems, power & energy systems, renewable energy, grid modernization, big data analytics, probabilistic design

     

    jiezhang@utdallas.edu

    Dr. Jin Ryong Kim

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor Of Computer Science, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 012

     

    Research interests:

    Human-Computer Interaction, Touch and Haptics Interactive System, Virtual and Augmented Reality

     

    Jin.Kim@utdallas.edu

     

     

    Dr. Yaqing Jin

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 013

     

    Research interests:

    Fluid mechanics, Renewable energy, Fluid-structure interactions, Turbulent flow, Energy-efficient locomotiont

     

    yaqing.jin@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Matthew Gardner

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Texas Instruments Early Career Fellow in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 014

     

    Research interests:

    Power Electronics and Energy Systems

     

    Matthew.Gardner@UTDallas.edu

     

     

     

    Dr. Armin Zare

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor Of Mechanical Engineering, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 015

     

    Research interests:

    Modeling, dynamics, and control of large-scale and distributed systems, Optimization, Dynamics and control of complex fluid flows

     

    armin.zare@utdallas.edu

     

    Dr. Chung Hwan Kim

    STEM Bridge Program Host

    Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, UT Dallas

     

    UTD 016

     

    Research interests:

    Cyber-Physical Systems Security, Systems Security, Software Security and Reliability.

     

    chungkim@utdallas.edu

     

     

     

  • 2022 STEM Bridge Summer Camp Program Details

    Registration Process:

     

    Each applicant will choose 5 preferred professors. Each hosting professor will decide which students to accept.

    Depending on the research project to be announced by the hosting professor, additional cost may occur based on the estimated cost of the materials that might be used for the project in the lab or on the equipment.

     

    Important Dates:

    • The application start date is Monday, April 4th, 9:00 am 
    • The applicant end date is Friday, April 15th, 5:00 pm 
    • The acceptance notification date is on or before Friday, April 22nd
    • The accepted applicant needs to complete registration by Friday, April 29th
    • Program Orientation: Sunday, June 5th , 2:00 pm 
    • The program start date is Monday, June 6th and end on Saturday, July 16th

     

    The program fee: $850, including the following:

    • The program orientation and closing ceremony 
    • The lab and equipment access
    • The weekly seminar with invited speakers
    • The awards for STAR trophy winners and certificates
    • The student insurance

    • The program fee is nonrefundable after Monday, June 13th

    Program Agenda:

    • Monday to Thursday*:
      • Study   9:00 am – 12:00 pm
      • Lunch  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
      • Study   1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
    • Friday:
      • Study 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
      • Weekly gathering: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm 
    • Closing Ceremony: Saturday, July 16th 9:00am – 3:00 pm

    * Each study group’s schedule and study agenda are set by the group professor. The professor may conduct the class virtually, in the classroom, in the research lab, or visiting research related site.

  • Payment

     

    $850 for 2022 STEM bridge Summer Camp

    Please enter student's legal name in notes

    Payment via Zelle

    Email: contact@cast-texas.org

    Phone: 469-668-6986

  • 2021 STEM bridge Symposium: 20 High School Students Received CAST STAR Awards

    July 18th, 2021 - CAST-TX held the closing ceremony. 63 students have successfully completed their projects and attended the symposium. Students presented their projects with 3 mins of video and 5 mins of presentation. One first prizes, two second prizes and three third prizes were awarded to the teams. The research accomplishments of the students were very impressive and some of research results in progress to be published in journal articles. CAST-TX likes to thank all the hosting professors, graduate students, volunteers, students and their parents for collaborative efforts to make the 2021 STEM Bridge a success

  • WINNERS OF 2021 CAST-STAR AWARDS

    Congratulations to the 2021 CAST STAR (Science Tech Academic Researcher) Award Winners!

    First Prize Winners of CAST STAR Award:

    First Prize Winners of CAST STAR Award:

    • Group 007:
    • Students name: Alena Zhang, Aaron Liu, Jonathan He, Veronica Fang, Luke Cheng, Neil Song, Kevin Lu
    • Advisor: Dr. Xiaohu Guo, Graduate Assistant: Jikai Wang
    • Title: Hand-object Detection With Reconstruction

    Second Prize Winners of CAST STAR Award:

    • Group 004-2

    • Students name: Grace Zou, Andy Qin

    • Advisors: Dr. Hongbing Lu, Graduate Assistant: Huiluo Chen

    • Title: Analysis of the Compression Behavior of 3D-Printed Photopolymer Lattices

    • Group 012:
    • Students name:Kaitlyn Hou, Boqian Lin, Olivia Liu, Darwin Xu, Sameen Ahmad
    • Advisor: Dr. Fatemeh Hassanipour, Graduate Assistant: Diana Alatalo, Lin Jiang, Navid Sadeghi

    • Title: Biomechanics of Breastfeeding

    Third Prize Winners of CAST STAR Award:

    • Group 001:
    • Students name: Nathan Ma, Donovan Zhang, Jinghan Annie Zeng, Riley Yuan

    • Advisor: Faculty advisor: Dr. Dong Qian, Graduate Assistant: Zhiqi Mao, Yingjian Liu

    • Title: Mechanical Design of Modular Force Feedback Devices for Minmally Invasive Surgical Simulators

    • Group 005:
    • Students name: Kevin Liu, Fang Zhu, Max Fan, Byron Li, Ethan Liu
    • Advisor: Dr. Weili Wu, Graduate Assistant: Yanke Hu
    • Title: All Drug Discovery for COVID-19

    • Group 009:

    • Students name: Daisy Ming Chang, Audrey He, Enying Fu, Zach Li, Sarah Tang

    • Advisor: Dr. Zhenpeng Qin, Graduate Assistant: Yaning Liu

    • Title: Plasmonic Nanoparticle Assisted Sensing For Multi-targets By Darkfield Imaging

     

  • FAQs

    Q1: What is the daily schedule? It is full time or part time summer camp?

    A: The daily schedule is very flexible. It will be discussed and decided between the hosting professor and the family together to work around each other's summer schedule. It can be full day or half day arrangement. As long as the total time put into the project is more than 100 hours in total, it will satisfy the time requirements.

    Q2: What is the suitable grade for the student for this program?

    A: We aim to support a wide range of high school students, from K9 to K12, meaning that students will become K10-K12 in the coming Fall 2022. We will ask the hosting professors to tailor the project goals and tasks to fit the student maturity levels.

    Q3: What about student transportation for the camp?

    A: Parents are required to provide student transportation. The daily schedule can be discussed with hosting professor to work around parents' schedule. For example, students can work for a couple of days at school and then work at home for the rest of the time.

    Q4: How can this project connect with Science Fair competitions?

    A: The project can be a basis for the student to prepare for Science Fair competition. The STEM bridge project can be continued after summer if the hosting professor agrees to support. Such arrangement needs to be discussed with the hosting professor. STEM bridge will provide related science fair information and schedule. For example, Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair has 17 categories to compete for middle school and high school students. Winners can advance to regional and national competition including prestigeous Intel international competition. More information about science fair is available at: www.fwrsef.org, dallassciencefair.org.

  • Sponsors and Donators

    Donation from student parents

    Chonghui Liu; Zhiyong Li; Li Zhang; Xinxin Sun; Dongjie Huang; Jin Zheng, Lynn Ma; Mei Tong; Yuan Zhang

     

    "Great efforts of CAST for STEM education"

    — Michael Weng, Vlife

     

    ACP Foundation

    Founded in 1993, ACP Foundation (formerly known as the Association of Chinese Professionals, Dallas / Fort Worth) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization registered in the state of Texas.

  • CONTACT US

    Let us know if you have any questions about STEM bridge.

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