POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is offering the academic Project Challenge program to North Country high school students.

Project Challenge provides area students an opportunity to participate in classes they cannot normally find at their high school.

Five-week courses are taught by Clarkson University faculty and administrators on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m.-noon, beginning in mid-January.

The program is administered by The Clarkson School, the University's early entrance program for talented high school students who have typically completed their junior year and are ready to begin college studies.

Project Challenge 2020 courses are held Saturday mornings 9 a.m.-noon on Jan. 11, 18 and 25; Feb. 1 and 8 (with a snow date of Feb. 15).

To register, contact the guidance counselor in your school to complete the registration information.

If you are a home-schooled student or a self-paying student, you can register online at https://undergrad.clarkson.edu/portal/proj_challenge.

Contact Brenda Kozsan, Director of Project Challenge, via email at bkozsan@clarkson.edu. or call 1-315-268-4425 with any questions.

The courses this year include the following:

• The Fundamentals of Flight - Into the Air and Space with instructors Wesley Nims, Mark Kanaparthi, and Clarkson Aeronautical Engineering students

Have you wondered how it is possible for airplanes to fly and spaceships to get into outer space? In this course, we will explore the basics of flight... both into the air and space. Students will not only learn these basics but also get to apply them by "flying" in a flight simulator. This course will give you the foundations that you can use to pursue careers in civilian or military flying or college studies in Aeronautical or Aerospace Engineering among other Engineering fields. (Limited to 14 students) Location: CAMP172

• The Personal Experiences, Struggles and Successes of Immigrants, Migrant Workers, Asylum Seekers and Refugees with instructor Claudia Hoffmann.

Have you found yourself wondering why people don't just apply for a visa or citizenship rather than secretly crossing the border? In this course, we will first have a look at the U.S. immigration system and the ways in which non-citizens can (or can't) gain legal status and citizenship. We will examine the history of U.S. immigration policies and track the changes over the years, including the most current ones.

Most importantly, however, we will set out to learn about the human stories behind current immigration, asylum, and refuge through stories, films, and guest speakers: who are the people who cross the border without papers? What is the difference between refugees and asylum seekers? Why do people leave their homes, families, and countries behind to settle, temporarily or permanently, in the U.S.? Who are the migrant workers who harvest our food in California, Florida, and other places, including the North Country? We will learn about Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children, but don't have legal status and the executive action, DACA, that grants them temporary legal status. In short, we will look behind the political debates and policies and get a glimpse into their personal struggles and successes. (Limited to 20 students) Location: Bertrand H. Snell Hall, Room 129.

• Walk this Way: Studying Body Movement with instructor Ali Boolani.

This class will utilize information from several core science areas to study the structural and mechanical principles of human movement. We will explore how we move, why we move and variables that influence human movement. Students will get an opportunity to identify a human movement that they would like to further explore.

Using a biomechanical analysis software they will analyze themselves performing their selected movement while comparing it to criterion. This class will give you the foundations that you need to help you understand human movement for help with future careers such as strength and conditioning, exercise science, physical and occupational therapy and orthopedics. (Limited to 15 students) Location: Clarkson Hall 224.

• Contemporary Social Issues with instructor JoAnn Rogers.

This course explores the definition, causes, consequences, and solutions of social problems in U.S. society. Through films, readings, lecture, and discussion, students will learn about issues such as sex and gender, poverty, homelessness, economic and racial inequality, education, neighborhood segregation.

Throughout the course, we will explore ways in which these social problems are part of the organization of society, and the way we can use our agency to address them. (Limited to 20 students) Location: Bertrand H. Snell Hall, Room 169.

• Forensic Science with instructor Fatima Mustafa.

This course will introduce students to basic laboratory procedures that are relevant in forensic sciences. Importance of scientific analysis of evidence in criminal science will be highlighted with hands-on activities.

The course will cover fingerprints classification, lifting and visualization with physical and chemical methods, chromatographic method for ink and drug analysis, known/unknown chemicals investigation, analysis of glass found in crime scene, blood testing and blood type identification. (Limited to 14 students) – Location: Science Center 136 and 138.

• Introduction to Engineering with instructors Maahi Talukder and S.M. Mahbobur Rahman.

Ever wondered how sports car, airplane, rocket, or robotic arm work? How engineers design and build everything around us that we marvel at? Ever built a simple machine like Rude Goldberg Machine?

If you are curious to learn the principles and keen to build your first simple machine, register for this course. (Limited to 15 Students) Location: CAMP 176.

• Playful Programming with instructors Jeanna Matthews, Hunter Bashaw and Clarkson students.

Computing is changing nearly every aspect of our society. Learning to write the software that is changing our world, rather than just use it, is both a preparation for many of the best careers available and an essential preparation for being a citizen of the modern world.

This course will give you a solid introduction to the fundamentals of programming while you learn to write some seriously fun programs like a personality quiz that you can use on your friends and a text-based game.

Classes will be in Applied Computer Science Labs at Clarkson and in addition to programming, current Clarkson students will help us mix in other great experiences with the hardware and software in the lab. (Limited to 24 students) Location: Science Center 334.

Schools that have participated Project Challenge in the past include Alexandria Bay, Brasher Falls, Brushton-Moira, Canton, Chateaugay, Clifton-Fine, Colton-Pierrepont, Edwards-Knox, Gouverneur, Herman-DeKalb, Heuvelton, Indian River, Lisbon, Lyme, Malone, Massena, Morristown, Ogdensburg, Parishville-Hopkinton, Potsdam, Sackets Harbor, Salmon River, Saranac Lake and Thousand Islands.