Pictured are junior high students from the local Dayton, Ohio region participating in the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT GSEM) Engineer's Week on May 1, 2026.  This year’s event hosted nearly 200 students, grades 6-12, from eight local schools in the Dayton, Ohio region.  Additional attendees included ROTC cadets from Wright State University, Kent State University and Ohio State University (U.S. Air Force contributed photo).

The Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT GSEM) hosted their annual Engineer's Week for nearly 200 students, grades 6-12, from eight local schools in the Dayton, Ohio region from April 29 – May 1, 2026.  Additional attendees included ROTC cadets from Wright State University, Kent State University, and Ohio State University.

AFIT has participated in Engineer’s Week for more than a decade and seeks to inspire and educate high school students about the wide range of opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields with each event.

As a component of Air University, AFIT provides in-residence and distance learning graduate degrees and certificates in engineering, applied science, mathematics and management. AFIT’s GSEM provides its students with several significant advantages, including a more personalized educational experience, academic programs with a defense-related focus, and research on high-priority defense problems.  

Pictured are straw and pencil rockets made by junior high students from the local Dayton, Ohio region during the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT GSEM) Engineer's Week on May 1, 2026.  This year’s event hosted nearly 200 students, grades 6-12, from eight local schools in the Dayton, Ohio region.  Additional attendees included ROTC cadets from Wright State University, Kent State University and Ohio State University (U.S. Air Force contributed photo).

Sean Kiriakis, secondary curriculum supervisor with Huber Heights City Schools, participated in the event with students from Weisenborn Middle School. 

“We attended AFIT’s engineering week to give our middle school students enrolled in engineering and computer science, who have also shown interest in these fields as careers, the opportunity to learn more about AFIT:  what AFIT offers, where it is located and who can enroll.”

Regarding the overall experience, Kiriakis remarked that “students already expressing an interest in STEM areas benefited the most because it deepened their understanding of what is out there.”

Students participated in hands-on sessions with professors in fields such as: rocket design, reverse engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), space operations, cyber-physical systems, optical spectroscopy, inertial navigation, antennas, and battlespace technologies. The event concluded with a question-and-answer session featuring a panel of current AFIT students and professors.

Engineers Week, or EWeek, was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, NPSE in 1951 and exists to feature the importance and contributions of engineering and technology and encourage students to pursue education and careers in STEM.  EWeek is celebrated annually in the month of February to honor President George Washington’s birthday, a former surveyor, and one of the nation’s first engineers.  AFIT holds the annual event at a later date to align school calendars and maximize student participation.

Pictured are junior high students from the local Dayton, Ohio region participating in the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT GSEM) Engineer's Week on May 1, 2026.  This year’s event hosted nearly 200 students, grades 6-12, from eight local schools in the Dayton, Ohio region.  Additional attendees included ROTC cadets from Wright State University, Kent State University and Ohio State University (U.S. Air Force contributed photo).

ABOUT AFIT

The Graduate School of Engineering and Management (GSEM) provides in-residence and distance learning graduate degrees and certificates in engineering, applied science, mathematics and management. GSEM provides its students with several significant advantages, including a more personalized educational experience, academic programs with a defense-related focus, and research on high-priority defense problems.  

AFIT is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. AFIT’s mission is to educate defense professionals to innovatively accomplish the deterrence and warfighting missions of the USAF and USSF. AFIT’s vision is to lead defense-focused education, research and consultation to accelerate military superiority across all domains and is accomplished through operationally relevant advanced academic education, research, and professional continuing education. For more information, please visit the AFIT webpage https://www.afit.edu/ or contact GSEM outreach, AFIT.EN.Outreach@us.af.mil .