Engineering Open House 2015

Unfortunately, the camera broke, so here is a picture from a prior year, but we did more vacuum demonstrations for kids at the 2015 Engineering Open House on Mar. 13. Thank you to all who were able to help out!

Outreach to 5th Grade Students with St. Elmo Brady STEM academy

On Oct. 25, the University of Illinois AVS Student Chapter taught ~ 15 4th and 5th grade boys of the St. Elmo Brady STEM academy about vacuum science. The St. Elmo Brady STEM academy gives African-American 4th and 5th grade boys hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We showed them what happens to a ringing alarm clock, the speed at which a feather and magnet fall, Peeps, shaving cream, a candle, a balloon, and water in a vacuum and helped them to discover why these materials behave the way that they do in a vacuum. 

Engineering Open House 2014

UIUC AVS had a booth "Peeps in Spaaaaace" at Engineering Open House on Mar. 14-15, 2014.

Vacuums are more than your trusty Hoover! They are used in a wide variety of industries and can be used to illustrate many important physical concepts, such as pressure, phase changes, and acoustics. Have you ever wondered what would happen to a balloon in a vacuum? Could you hear an explosion in space? What happens to fire in the vacuum of space? Can you get a fireball in space? How can you get ice to crystallize at room temperature? What happens when you put Peeps and shaving cream in a vacuum?

Thank you to all who helped to man the booth!

Vacuum Workshop 2012

Two-day vacuum workshop on April 17th and 18th 2012 from 11:00-1:00 pm in MRL 280!

Do you work with vacuum systems?
PLD? MBE? CVD? ALD? Sputtering?

Ever wonder how to build a vacuum chamber?
Ever wonder why your base pressure is too high?
Ever wonder what materials are vacuum compatible?
Ever wonder how to use a leak detector?

These are some of the questions we will be addressing at our two day vacuum workshop on April 17th and 18th from 11:00-1:00 pm in MRL 280!

The full list of topics are: gas and surface physics, vacuum technology, industry standards, component design and fabrication, system operation and safety.

Lunch will be provided.

To attend pre-register with the form at the bottom of this page. (Registration is now closed.)

Hosted by UIUC AVS Student Chapter. Presented by A&N Coorporation (http://www.ancorp.com/).

For more information, contact Frank Bergschneider at Fberg@ancorp.com or the UIUC AVS Student Chapter at illinoisavs@gmail.com

Engineering Open House 2012

At Engineering Open House, the AVS Student Chapter held exhibitions to introduce kids and adults to the fun of vacuum science. One exhibition involved the effects of atmospheric pressure on everyday objects, or more specifically: what would happen to peeps and shaving cream in space! Another bewildered even adults by freezing water after making it boil in a vacuum! Be sure to see our videos: peep in a vacuum, shaving cream in a vacuum, boiling water that freezes in a vacuum, balloon in vacuum, and candle in a vacuum!