Lockheed Inspires Marietta Students

Engineers from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facility in Marietta will work with thousands of local students during National Engineers Week, Feb. 19 through 25.

Employees will participate in numerous events for students of all ages and grade levels with the goal of interesting young people in technical careers and inspiring them to become the next generation of engineers and scientists. Activities will include hands-on projects and presentations to show how engineering impacts everyday life.

During the week, Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA troops will visit the Marietta site for tours of aircraft manufacturing lines and participate in workshops hosted by engineers.

Lockheed Martin engineers will be in area K through 12 classrooms through the Engineers in the Classroom program and conduct workshops for students at Southern Polytechnic State University and Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Engineers in the Classroom program is a year-round Lockheed Martin initiative allowing students to experience engineering first-hand through activities, interactive presentations and meetings with Lockheed Martin engineers.

Each school visit lasts about 45 to 60 minutes and includes a general engineering overview and video presentation, as well as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)-related activity.

The engineers serve as mentors to encourage students to pursue the engineering field. In 2011, about 25,000 Atlanta-area students participated in Engineers in the Classroom activities conducted by Lockheed employees.

“We face a major challenge as an industry and country in developing our future technical work force,” said Shan Cooper, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics vice president and Marietta site general manager, in a news release. “Events like National Engineers Week give our employees an opportunity to meet this
challenge in a very engaging and hands-on environment. Inspiring today’s students to become tomorrow’s engineers is a priority for our employees and corporation.”

Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.