The UNH Tech Camp and UNH Technology Transfer Center are pleased to host their 9th session of the US Department of Transportation’s National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) summer camp program.
What is NSTI?
The NSTI program has been designed to provide middle and high school students, minority, young women and disadvantaged youths a once in a lifetime opportunity of an immersive camp experience in a university setting. The goal of the program is to encourage and increase STEM literacy for all students, including those interested in pursuing STEM related course work and additional studies. Access and awareness of quality STEM programs have been proven to help to develop critical thinking, reasoning, teamwork, investigative and creative capabilities for students applicable in all areas of their current lives and for decades to come. Additional goals of the program are to increase the number of students pursuing advanced degrees and careers in Transportation related STEM fields, while helping to broaden the participation of women and minorities in those fields, helping to deliver a STEM-capable workforce.
Individual program weeks are created to encourage students to be aware of the impacts on their community that transportation infrastructure creates and to bring an awareness of the variety of self-sustaining careers available within the transportation industry available today and the advances that will create the programs of tomorrow.
Camp sessions run Sunday afternoon for arrival, orientation and settling in and conclude Friday afternoon following a camper showcase.
Interested campers can apply to attend either the Bridges and Construction Project or RC Cars Project.
Bridge Project NSTI Camp
Bridge Project Camp will take place from July 8-12 and is a residential program on campus at UNH Durham. There is space for up to 10 New Hampshire students entering Grades 8-10 who have not participated in NSTI previously to attend free.
What to expect at Bridge Project Camp: How many times a week do you walk or drive over a bridge? How difficult would it be for you to access things like school, stores, or even your friends and family if bridges were not safe and reliable? Bridges are a critical piece of infrastructure that we often take for granted, but without them life as we know it would look very different!
Students in this residential program will learn about the lifecycle and design needs of different types of bridges, tour current bridge projects and with industry partners, and design and complete a hands-on model bridge to meet the specific needs of a New Hampshire community. Activities will include testing engineering materials and analyzing data to determine optimal materials; discovering the physics behind different existing New Hampshire bridges; and exploring the interaction between bridges, and their role not just to transportation, but also habitat management and mobility, environmental impact, conservation, emergency management, and commerce. Campers will serve as the civil engineer in charge of their bridge model. Let the challenge begin!
RC Cars Project: Trail to Track NSTI Camp
**Please note that as of 5/9/2024 RC Cars camp is full and applications for RC Cars camp are closed. If you are a camper interested in either RC Cars or Bridge/Construction, you're encouraged to select "Either" on your application.**
RC Cars Project: Trail to Track will take place from July 15-19 and is a residential program on campus at UNH Durham. There is space for up to 10 New Hampshire students entering Grades 8-10 who have not participated in NSTI previously to attend free.
What to expect at RC Cars Project Camp: In this fast-paced program, campers will be using professional-grade off-road RC crawler trucks and drift cars to explore remote control engineering, design and usage.
They will build routes, bridges, balancers and more to challenge the drivers with their vehicles, making modifications to improve performance, as the week progresses Problem-solving and creative thinking are emphasized.
Students will be using the RC vehicles to climb their way out of or over varied challenges in rocks, dirt, mud and rivers and making their way along tricky paths and challenges.
Later in the week, campers will take their skills to the road to practice driving on-road RC drift cars in a fun, but challenging, course; the techniques of throttle control and tandems will be explored. This program will also teach students how to tune and care for RC vehicles using various tools and accessories.
Funding and Scholarships for NSTI
NH NSTI is made possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with grant oversight from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), Office of Access, Opportunity, and Compliance. The NSTI program, currently in its 31st year, provides full financial scholarships for up to twenty NH students entering grades 8, 9, and 10, who have never attended an NSTI-sponsored program in the past. This year, the NH NSTI camp, hosted on the UNH Durham campus, is free of charge for one-week STEM camp experiences focused on either Bridges & Construction or RC Cars.
Who is eligible to apply to attend 2024 NH NSTI?
We encourage all interested NH students of all abilities who are entering grades 8, 9, or 10 and who have not attended NSTI-sponsored camps in the past to apply.* Not sure if you have previously participated in NSTI through UNH Tech Camp? Please contact us for assistance at Marilee.Enus@unh.edu or via phone at 603.862.1362.
If you are a student or parent/guardian of a New Hampshire student, entering grades 8, 9, or 10 interested in the technology, innovations, and design/build processes of your transportation world, we invite you to apply for either the Bridge & Construction camp or RC Cars camp weeks. Students accepted into the NSTI program will be required to complete a full registration process, consistent with UNH Tech Camp requirements.
Space is limited to 10 students per session.
If you need assistance or accommodations to apply or attend NH NSTI, please contact Marilee.Enus@unh.edu or via phone at 603.862.1362. The application process is available in alternate formats.
How to apply to 2024 NH NSTI
We encourage the Parent/Legal Guardian and Applicant to complete the application together, although the Parent/Legal Guardian must sign off on the application before submission.
If you need assistance with the application process, including any accommodations or support, or to access the application in an alternate format, please contact Marilee.Enus@unh.edu or via phone at 603.862.1362.
- Applications to NSTI require academic transcripts. You will have the option to upload your academic transcripts, email or mail transcripts, or to provide us authorization to work with your school to obtain transcripts on your behalf. Please see number 4 below for important information about mailing or emailing required documentation.
- We encourage all applicants to NSTI to provide at least one, ideally two, letters of reference (academic, employment, or community-based). You will have the option to upload, email or postal mail letters of reference.
- There is a brief essay question to get to know the applicant and their career interests as part of the application process. Therefore, it's recommended that applicants and their parent/legal guardian complete the application together. However, there is an option for the applicant to submit the required essay response via email or mail. Please see number 4 below for important information about mailing or emailing required documentation
- If you elect to mail or email any documentation in support of this electronic application, please note that your application will be considered incomplete until UNH has confirmed receipt of any required mailed/emailed documents.
- Applications received after May 1, 2024 will be reviewed in the order they arrive "complete" with all documentation, and will then be considered in a first-come, first serve process until all camp seats have been filled. Have questions or need assistance? Please contact us! Marilee.Enus@unh.edu or call Marilee at 603.862.1362.
- All applications will be reviewed in a timely manner, and enrollment decisions will be communicated as quickly as possible. Students accepted into the NSTI program will be required to complete a full registration process, consistent with UNH Tech Camp requirements.
Full application packets can be submitted using the online application below, or printed and emailed to Marilee.Enus@unh.edu or mailed via US Mail to UNH Technology Transfer Center,35 Colovos Rd., Durham, NH 03824, Attn: Marilee Enus.
Applications are accepted and reviewed until all camp seats are filled.
Students not initially accepted have the option to be placed on a waitlist should a space become available prior to June 1, 2024.
NH NSTI program is provided with Federal Grant funds. All programs and activities will be operated to comply with Federal and State Anti-discrimination laws, rules and policies.
