The University of California, Merced & Merced College BattChallenge team showcases its community engagement plan in the following video. Featured are Bristin Scalzo-Jones, UC Merced’s communication faculty lead and communications mentor to the team, and Alejandro Guitíerrez, a UC Merced mechanical engineering professor who is helping the BattChallenge teams, who share about the team’s plans to interact with school-aged children, families and businesses in an Earth Day event held at Applegate Park Zoo in Merced, Calif.
“For me, community outreach is all about taking the knowledge we have here at our university and making it relevant and useful to our community members,” Scalzo-Jones said.
The team’s goals include spreading awareness about new green technology, educating others about environmental issues and inspiring others to take action.
“The Battery Workforce Challenge is not just about designing the best battery pack or figuring out the best energy management system,” said Guitíerrez, “it is about getting people to use our systems to benefit from them and community outreach is really the only way we can let everyone know how useful these systems that we design are going to be — that they ultimately work for the community.”
