News Release | Community
Here is the caption: Dr. Ala Qubbaj, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Dr. Jianzhi Li, professor of Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering, spoke with high school students and teachers on Friday during a virtual National Manufacturing Day workshop hosted by the I-DREAM4D consortium.
Friday, October 2, 2020
Community, Around Campus
By Victoria Brito
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – UTRGV on Friday hosted a virtual National Manufacturing Day workshop sponsored by the I-DREAM4D consortium, to introduce local high school students to the advanced manufacturing training offered at UTRGV and Virginia Tech, one of the partners in the program.
The online event served as an opportunity to recruit and engage school student high school students for I-DREAM4D summer camps. This is also designed to expose student about research/innovation opportunities in defense manufacturing.
Dr. Jianzhi Li, professor of manufacturing and industrial engineering and principal investigator on the I-DREAM4D consortium, spoke to the group of more than 200 students about the potential and opportunity of manufacturing engineering careers.
“There is strong momentum to grow a domestic manufacturing base in the United States,” Li said. “It is so critical to the prosperity of the people in the United States. Without this base, the country wouldn’t be as competitive as it is in the world. Studying manufacturing-related programs, and pursuing a career in the field, will grant you much more opportunities not only for your career, but also for your community.”
National Manufacturing Day is celebrated on the first Friday in the month of October.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.