LIVINGSTON, Ala.—The University of West Alabama will host an Invention Convention on Friday, Nov. 9. The event will showcase projects developed by UWA freshmen as well as area students from Sumter Central High School and Sumter Academy. Events include a project viewing, renowned guest speaker, and a student award ceremony. The program is part of UWA’s Project Engage.

The community is invited to the viewing of projects at Brock Y Hall from 11 a.m. until noon. Following the viewing, guests will move to Bibb Graves Auditorium to hear guest speaker Todd May, program manager for the Space Launch System Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. May will speak from 12:30 until 1 p.m. An award ceremony will follow from 1 until 1:30 p.m.

The guest speaker previously served as Marshall’s technical associate director and has managed more than 100 research projects in the Science and Mission Systems Office at Marshall. He manages a $5 billion annual portfolio of space and Earth science missions for NASA. His management projects have included NASA’s successful Discovery, New Frontiers, and Lunar Precursor Robotics Programs.

May’s professional awards include NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Senior Executive Presidential Rank Award, one of the highest honors given for commitment to excellence in public service.

The Invention Convention and Project Engage are funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education. Project Engage is designed to increase retention in all STEM programs, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through programming like the Invention Convention, emphasis is placed on freshman team building

Dr. Ketia Shumaker of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Dr. Reenay Rogers of the Julia S. Tutwiler College of Education serve as principal investigators of the program.

For more information on the Invention Convention or Project Engage at the University of West Alabama, contact Shumaker at kshumaker@uwa.edu or 205-652-3406.