MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University recently concluded its third annual National Summer Transportation Institute, a free, four-week residential STEM program that provides a cohort of high schoolers with hands-on exposure to possible academic and career paths.

Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the STEM program exploring the fields of science, technology, engineering and math hosted 15 high school participants (rising ninth through 12th graders mostly from Middle Tennessee) at the Applied Engineering Building on the MTSU campus.

Greg Van Patten, dean of MTSU’s College of Basic and Applied Sciences, and Pamela Sharp, TDOT’s summer institute manager, were in attendance to welcome the new cohort to campus and launch the program, with Van Patten encouraging the students to actively explore the diverse sectors and career pathways within the transportation industry.

“The National Summer Transportation Institute gives these students an opportunity to experience areas of transportation, engineering and technology they may not otherwise encounter while they are still in high school,” said Van Patten. “They spend four weeks learning, working with new technologies and seeing the range of careers available in the transportation industry. We appreciate TDOT and the Federal Highway Administration for their continued partnership and investment in these students.”

Over the course of the institute from July 6-31, participants engaged in hands-on learning focused on key modern transportation technologies, including autonomous vehicles, drone technology, computer programming, traffic system simulation, and experimental vehicles, alongside educational field trips to regional transportation agencies and industry facilities, including the city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee Electric, Nashville Department of Transportation, TDOT, Amazon, Nissan’s manufacturing facility, and the Nashville International Airport.

Addressing the cohort in a closing ceremony on July 31, Brian Hinote, MTSU’s vice provost for faculty and strategic initiatives, welcomed parents to the AEB facility and praised the students’ hard work and accomplishments. He expressed gratitude to NSTI Director Lei Miao, an MTSU mechatronics engineering professor, the program staff, and TDOT for their ongoing support and collaboration.

Also attending the closing ceremony was Jessica Starling, director of TDOT’s Civil Rights Division, who commended the participants for the impressive technical presentations and project achievements demonstrated during the final showcase.

Miao thanked the participants and their parents for their efforts, and also recognized NSTI chaperones Essence Smith, Joshua Smith, John Aduroja, and Asmaa Akram “for their excellent work,” as well as Engineering Technology staff members Rick Taylor and Matthew Crist for their contributions to the success of the program, and the local agencies and companies who generously supported the NSTI program.

“Through initiatives like NSTI, MTSU and its local, state and federal partners continue to inspire the next generation of engineers, technologists, and leaders in the STEM fields and the transportation sector,” Miao noted.

To learn more about the 2026 program, visit https://people.mtsu.edu/lmiao/2026nsti/.

— Jimmy Hart ([email protected])