The Governor's Institutes of Vermont (GIV) has enrolled 400 Vermont students in seven different educational summer institutes, including the Engineering Institute and the Mathematics Institute. The purpose of the GIV Institutes is to enrich the lives of motivated Vermont high school students through intensive educational experiences on Vermont college campuses. These programs emphasize experiential learning and subsequent community involvement.

UVM/GIV Engineering Institute

The UVM/GIV Engineering Institute will be held July 1-7, 2007, at the University of Vermont sponsored by the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). A total of 114 students — 17 of whom are Global Challenge students from as far away as China, India, Honduras, and Indonesia — will join students from all over the United States for 7 days and 6 nights at UVM exploring how technology impacts society while working on one of five engineering projects: aeronautical engineering, biomass, wind energy, robotics, or the Vermont Challenge. For more information, contact Dawn Densmore, Director of Outreach & Public Relations (densmore@cems.uvm.edu) or go to www.cem.uvm.edu/summer.

UVM/GIV Mathematical Sciences Institute

Approximately 30 top mathematics students will participate in the UVM/GIV Mathematical Sciences Institute, June 24-29, 2007. The Institute will include topics such as probability and statistics, fair division and fair apportionment, and problem solving in geometry and enumeration. Students will work on a hands-on project designing trusses for bridges that will be tested for weight-to-load ratios at the end of the week. Dr. George Pinder, professor of civil engineering and mathematics, will provide students with an understanding of the mathematics and engineering behind the lawsuit portrayed in the 1998 movie, A Civil Action, in which Pinder served as an expert witness for the prosecution. Student activities will include touring Shelburne Farms, visiting Vermont covered bridges, and viewing trusses at different sites in Chittenden County. Student participants were selected on the basis of excellence demonstrated on the Vermont Mathematics High School Prize Exam (given by the UVM CEMS Department of Mathematics and Statistics), the Mathematics Talent Search (conducted by the Vermont State Mathematics Coalition), the Vermont High School Mathematics League Competitions, by teacher recommendation, and by application to the Governor's Institutes of Vermont. For more information, contact Professor Jeff Dinitz (jeff.dinitz@uvm.edu) or visit the web site at www.cems.uvm.edu/math/gims.