Date: 03/11/2008

Five Hundred Local Students to Compete In Hands-On Mathematics, Science and Engineering Activities

Contacts:
Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU Media Relations, 408-924-1748
Yesenia Guerrero Massarella, SJSU MESA Schools Director, 408-924-5034

SAN JOSE, Calif., -- The San José State University MESA Schools Program will host MESA Day 2008 on Saturday, March 15, at SJSU's Student Union, College of Business and Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering. Five hundred educationally disadvantaged students from 16 local middle and high schools will be dropping containerized eggs from tall buildings, racing miniature cars built from mousetraps, and flight-testing homemade balsawood gliders. MESA Day 2008 will begin at 9 a.m., and end with an awards ceremony at 3 p.m. in the Student Union's Barrett Ballroom. MESA is an abbreviation for "Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement."

Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, East Side Union High School District, Franklin-McKinley School District, San José Unified School District, Sequoia Union High School District and Gilroy Unified School District will participate in the competitions, which encourage students to enjoy applying academic skills to real-world math and science projects. The contests will include:

• Trebuchets
• Bridges
• Balsawood gliders
• Model heart and gastrointestinal tracts
• Mathematics
• Mousetrap cars
• Public speaking
• Egg drops
• Web designs

Participants will also work with adult role models employed by MESA Day's corporate sponsors. Intel is the lead sponsor for MESA Day 2008. Other supporters include: Cisco Systems, General Electric, HP, IBM, EMC, NASA, SE Labs, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the SJSU College of Science and the SJSU MESA Engineering Program.

"Eleven years after joining MESA as a high school freshman, I still feel the same excitement on MESA Day," said Miguel Rosas, a MESA graduate. "It's great to see the students' ingenuity and teamwork embedded in all the competitions, and I feel fortunate to represent Cisco, a company that values long term investments in our youth and is dedicated to enhancing the 'human network' by changing the way we work, live, play and learn."

The SJSU MESA Schools Program prepares and motivates educationally disadvantaged students to successfully pursue college-preparatory coursework, promotes math and science careers, and develops pre-professional and leadership skills. A national organization, MESA is supported by over 200 companies because MESA's proven strategies produce engineers and technology-based professionals that businesses need to stay competitive.

• Learn more about the SJSU MESA Schools Program.
• Learn about the SJSU MESA Engineering Program.
• Learn about MESA's national programs.

San José State -- Silicon Valley's largest institution of higher learning with 32,000 students and 5,700 employees -- is part of the California State University system. SJSU's 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation's 10th largest city.