M-STEM3 500 Student Fair to feature Indianapolis 500 winner

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and former Formula One driver Alexander Rossi will speak to more than 800 middle school and high school students at the M-STEM 500 Student Fair on May 16-17 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The fair, in its third year, will use motorsports to provide students with hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The fair is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

"The M-STEM 500 Student Fair brings STEM to the students in a way that is not only engaging, but is real," said Danny White, director of motorsports at Purdue. "They get to see professionals from motorsports that use STEM every day in the fast-paced world of racing."

This year, Honda Performance Development is bringing the Andretti Autosport duo of Hunter-Reay and Rossi, a Verizon IndyCar Series driver and Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year contender, to answer questions from the students. There also will be IndyCars present that could run in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 29.

"Honda is a great partner, and we are extremely happy to have them on board," White said. "The technology they can provide is a huge advantage for the students attending the fair."

Honda will have Q&A sessions with the drivers and with Honda engineers. Hunter-Reay will speak to students from 11-11:30 a.m. on May 16 and Rossi will speak 10:45-11:15 a.m. on May 17 in the East chalet. Honda also will have a session that breaks down the aerodynamics and performance characteristics of a Verizon IndyCar Series race car.

The fair is part of M-STEM3 (Motorsports STEM for Manufacturing and Medicine) at Purdue, an education initiative designed to spark students' interest in STEM fields by taking advantage of Purdue's location in the "Racing Capital of the World."

Writer: Megan Huckaby, 765-496-1325, mhuckaby@purdue.edu

Source: Danny White, director of motorsports at Purdue, 317-632-0716, white66@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: There will be a photo opportunity and brief media availability with Honda drivers at 1:30 p.m. May 12 in front of the Andretti Autosport garage.