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Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is a program where students work together in teams to achieve engineering-based solutions for problems that the local community and education organizations have. The goal of EPICS is to provide services for local communities in need of technical help while allowing students to gain experience in solving technical problems, working in diverse and multidisciplinary teams, learning specific engineering skills, and preparing them to succeed in their future academic career through a real working environment.

EPICS in Purdue University
The EPICS program was founded at Purdue University by the College of Engineering in the fall of 1995. The EPICS program was created in order to teach students about the designing process through serving the community, how to work in a multidisciplinary and diverse team, project management skills, and how to establish and sustain partnerships. During the 2003-2004 academic year, the EPICS program at Purdue had over 400 students from 20 different departments and 25 different multidisciplinary teams. To this date, there have been over 2,000 Purdue students who have been in the EPICS program.

EPICS in Universities
In 1999, due to the success of EPICS at Purdue, the EPICS program has expanded to become a nation program know as EPICS University. EPICS is now currently operating at 20 different universities, few of which are outside of the United States, with Purdue as the headquarters for the National EPICS Program. The universities that participate in EPICS are:
 * Purdue University
 * Arizona State University
 * Butler University
 * University of California, Merced
 * University of California, San Diego
 * Columbia University
 * Dartmouth College
 * Drexel University
 * George Fox University
 * Illinois Institute of Technology
 * University of Notre Dame
 * Ohio Northern University
 * Penn State University
 * Princeton University
 * University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
 * San Jose State University
 * University of Sherbrooke
 * Texas A&M University
 * University of Virginia
 * Worcester Polytechnic Institute

EPICS in High Schools
In 2006, EPICS continued to expand its program to high schools. This program is called EPICS High, where high school students also have the chance to participate in the EPICS program. Through EPICS High, students have the chance to volunteer in projects that help people in local communities. Through this program, students will become heavily exposed in STEM fields as a way to help students become more interested in engineering. The following are high schools are participate in EPICS High:

Arizona
 * Amphitheater High School
 * Bioscience High School
 * Brophy College Prep
 * Hamilton High School
 * Rancho Solano Preparatory
 * Sabino High School
 * Salpointe Catholic High School
 * Xavier College Prep
 * Yuma Catholic High School

California
 * Andrew P. Hill High School
 * Fairmont Preparatory Academy
 * High Tech High School - San Diego
 * Pacific Ridge School
 * Pleasant Grove High School - Sacramento
 * Will C. Wood Middle School
 * Windward School
 * Yerba Buena High School

Illinois
 * Lake View High
 * Loyola Academy
 * Nazareth Academy
 * Urban Prep Charter Academy
 * Westinghouse College Prep

Indiana
 * Bedford North Lawrence High School
 * Canterbury School
 * Columbus Area Career Connection
 * Faith Christian School
 * Fort Wayne - Northrop High School
 * Frankfort High School
 * Park Tudor High School

Massachusetts
 * Agawam High School
 * North Central Charter Essential School/Sizer School

New Jersey
 * Bridgewater-Raritan High School

Pennsylvania
 * North Penn High School

Texas
 * R.L. Turner High School

Virginia
 * Chantilly High School Academy
 * Foxcroft School

EPICS High is also responsible for training high school teachers and administrators during the summer in order to provide them the tools and resources necessary to run EPICS High in their schools. These summer training sessions will teach teachers and administrators about EPICS standards, the EPICS High Curriculum, leadership skills, how to teach design, how to create and maintain partnerships, and project management skills.

Academic Structure
In order to participate in the EPICS program, students must apply to the EPICS program prior to the start of the academic semester through their university’s EPICS website. Once accepted into the program, every student in EPICS is divided into teams that consist of 8 to 18 students. Each team works on a specific project while being advised by a Purdue faculty member, staff, or an engineer from a local industry and by a graduate teaching assistant. During EPICS, students will learn concepts such as the importance of communication skills, multidisciplinary teams, professional ethics, and user-centered designs.

Purdue's EPICS Teams
The following are the major teams and the projects that are being worked on at Purdue University :

ABOD
The ABOD team’s mission is to create and provide safe housing to communities that have been stricken with natural disasters.

Advanced Design (APPS)
The APPS team develops smartphone apps that can be beneficial to the community. Currently they are working on the TADA project (technology assisted dietary assessment), a mobile app that will help track of people’s nutrient intake as a way to help prevent people becoming overweight.

Aero and Astro Engineering Education (AAEE)
The AAEE team creates projects that apply aerodynamic principles, aeronautic design, flight, and propulsion, which will be presented on Purdue Space Day. This will allow students to learn more about STEM education.

Camp Riley (CR)
The CR team creates projects that help children with physical disabilities to realize their potential, as they grow independent. CR works with Camp Riley, a summer camp held for children with disabilities, and is located at Bradford Woods, Indiana University. Currently, CR has three projects: Sensory Trail Project, Sailboat Project, and Trail Maintenance.

The Sensory Trail Project is designing an equestrian trail where campers will go to four different stations that will allow them to explore four different senses: sight, hearing, touch, and smell.

The Sailboat Project is creating a sailboat with a mechanism in it that allows the boat to be accessible to all campers.

The Trail Maintenance Project’s mission is to improve the conditions of the trails at Camp Riley and improve the trail so that all campers can travel on the trails (“Purdue EPICS Camp”).

Creating Accessible Racing (CAR)
The CAR team’s mission is to design a car for the Indianapolis Soap Box Derby Challenger Division. This car will accommodate for two drivers, one driver will be a professional driver while the other drive will be a child with a disability. This goal will be accomplished by a mechanism the CAR team is designing which will allow the professional driver to change the steering controls from the child’s wheel to their wheel when the their safety is in danger.

Cellular Engineering Demonstrations (CED)
The CED team is designing and creating living cell models that young students can interact with. The purpose of their project is to have children learn more about science through these cellular models.

Columbian Park Zoo (ZOO)
The ZOO team works with the Columbian Park Zoo with the purpose of creating projects that will be used at the Zoo in order to educate their patrons. Currently there is four projects being developed: Interactive Kiosk, Farm Donation Box, Interactive Key, and Butterfly Donation Box.

The Interactive Kiosk is a touchscreen game that will entertain zoo patrons and also educate them about the zoo and the animals at the zoo.

The Farm Donation Box is a structure and design similar to plinko with models of five different zoo animals at the bottom of the board. The purpose of the Farm Donation Box is to encourage patrons to donate money to the Columbian Park Zoo and when a coin is dropped into the plinko-like board and falls in one of the animal models, the animal’s corresponding sound will play.

The Interactive Key Project is a matching game, where the patron will match a birdcall with the bird. Once this match is made, the patron will be educated about that specific bird.

The Butterfly Donation Box is another donation box similar to the Farm Donation Box. However, when money is donated into the butterfly, lights from the butterfly box will light up.

Database and Innovative Software for the Community (DISC)
The DISC team’s purpose is to create innovated database applications that will meet the needs of agencies in the West Lafayette community. The agencies that DISC is working with are: Lafayette Crisis Center Scheduling System, Fair Hope, and The Soap and Towel Campaign.

Electric Vehicle Event Infrastructure (EVEI)
The EVEI team’s mission is to create a high school league for Purdue’s EV Grand Prix. The team plans to do this by evaluating what parts of Purdue’s race and go-kart are too dangerous for high school students.

Environmental Improvement Initiative (EII)
The EII team’s goal is to create sustainable projects that are environmentally oriented that will eventually benefit the community. EII has four different projects, Waste Management, LEED, HOT, and FLINT, which all revolve around the goal of creating more efficient and environmentally friendly infrastructural systems or technological systems.

Global Alternative Power Solutions (GAPS)
The GAPS team’s goal is to provide alternative power sources, such as solar power panels, to communities or businesses in need. Currently, GAPS has created a prototype for a solar panel structure that will be used to power a kindergarten school located in Medellin, Colombia.

Global Design of Assistive Technology (GDAT)
The GDAT team’s mission is to design biomedical technologies that will be used to rehabilitate and aid in the therapy of stroke victims and clinically overweight patients in Ireland.

Greater Lafayette Area Special Services (GLASS)
The GLASS team’s mission is to design and create assistive technology that will help improve the lives of students with disabilities.

Greater Lafayette Elementary Education (GLEE)
The GLEE team’s strives to develop STEM oriented projects so that the students from the Happy Hollow Elementary School of West Lafayette can interact with. The goal is to help promote and incorporate STEM education in an elementary classroom experience.

Imagination Station (IS)
The IS team has two different projects: Mars Rover and Laser Harp.

The Mars Rover project is a miniature model of the Mars Rover that is enclosed in a room that represents the surface of Mars. The purpose of this project is to educate children about space exploration.

The Laser Harp is an electronic harp that uses lasers instead of strings in order to make sound. When these laser beams are broken, the harp will play a sound that corresponds to that string’s sound. The purpose of this project is to educate children about sound and music and to educate children about the properties of a laser.

Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI)
The ISBVI team’s mission is to create technologies that will aid blind and visually impaired students. ISBVI has two different projects: LEAP and MAGNIFIER.

Learning Science and Math through Engineering (LSME)
The LSME team’s goal is to help students in middle school and high school have a stronger understanding of math and science through engineering related activities. LSME has three projects: Estimation, Robotics, and Nano.

TORCH (TORCH)
The TORCH team’s goal is to create an advanced, eco-friendly baton torch used for relay competitions that contains features such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and a camera.

Web-based Interactive Software Engineering (WISE)
The WISE team develops web-based applications that meet the requirements of organizations in the local community in need for such software. Examples of projects that WISE is working on are: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Simulation (SLHS-SIM) and EPICS Explorer.

SLHS-SIM is a website that allows students with speech, language, or hearing disabilities to take online tests through online videos. These websites contain online scantrons which students will take tests on.

EPICS Explorer is another application which will be used to assist prospective EPICS students select a team they wish to be a part of. Through EPICS Explorer, prospective students can review and examine each team and their projects before selecting which team they want to be part of. This project has the goal of replacing the current website students use to apply for EPICS teams.