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Industry
Jeff Gordon sponsor Axalta partners with Penn State to focus on STEM programs (AP)
Jeff Gordon slid into a street-legal version of his race car and set out for a slow cruise with a passenger who had no idea what kind of ride the four-time NASCAR champion had in store for her. There was nothing ordinary about this drive in the No. 24 Chevrolet. Gordon revved his engine and peeled away as he put on a show for a large crowd of fans chasing him as he drove through the Penn State campus. He ended the ride in front of Penn State's Berkey Creamery, and even led the enthusiastic crowd on a "We Are! Penn State!" cheer. The blue and white car had Penn State displayed prominently on it, part of a program being run by Gordon sponsor Axalta Coating Systems.
$20,000 grant will boost STEM program in Farrell (Sharon Herald)
The Verizon Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to Farrell Area School District for its after-school [STEM] program, according to a news release from Lynne Powell, the district's community outreach specialist. Farrell's after-school STEM program involves students in grades five through eight learning and applying all four aspects of STEM to different workshop stations over 12 weeks, according to the school district. The Verizon Foundation provides financial assistance to schools and other organizations in the areas of education, health care and energy management, particularly in underserved communities, according to Verizon. 
Diversity in STEM
Report: Tenure, Not Hiring, Is Chief Bottleneck to STEM Faculty Diversification (The Chronicle)
The researchers examined the career trajectories of people with doctorates in the STEM disciplines and related fields to try to determine why women and black or Hispanic people remain especially underrepresented in college faculty positions in those areas. The analysis used recent data from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, a long-term National Science Foundation study that collects information on doctoral recipients in the STEM fields, social sciences, psychology, and economics over the course of their lives. As a whole, the researchers found, doctoral recipients are most likely to get a tenure-track position two years after earning their Ph.D.?s, with their odds then steadily dropping to less than 1 percent after 10 years.
Marcia L. Dyson (CEO & Founder, Women's Global Initiative): Can STEM and App-Based Technology Play a Critical Role in Eliminating the Gender and Race Wage Gap for Women? (Huffington Post)
App-based jobs have only been around for a few years and are already proving to be powerful agent for change in the lives of women. Unlike the traditional labor market, app technologies offer a job opportunity that is not subjected to gender-based discrimination. From the application stage to the marketplace, women are treated equal to their male counterparts on these technology platforms. Can this really change things? I was present when Uber recently announced a commitment to create jobs for 1,000,000 women on their platform by 2020. And I met with women drivers from London, Naibori, Bogota and Dallas who attest that "being their own boss" gave them and their global peers the ability to have the leisure and financial rewards enjoyed by their male counterparts.
STEM Competitions
PepsiCo and the Society of Women Engineers Launch Contest to Inspire the Next Generation of Engineers (SWE)
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and PepsiCo announced today the launch of a contest challenging young engineers to develop innovative ideas to improve PepsiCo products. The PepsiCo/Society of Women Engineers Student Engineering Challenge is now open for submissions. Engineering undergrad students are invited to form teams of up to four and develop original, technical solutions to enhance the way PepsiCo makes, moves and sells their products. Students are encouraged to develop ideas that will promote sustainability and make a positive impact on society.
Coding
New book series wants to teach your 3-year-old to code (GeekWire)
Can a 3-year-old code? That?s the intent of a former Microsoftie and children?s author Ayesha Hameed, who used to be a software developer for the tech giant based in Hyderabad, India. She?s created a new e-book series called Coding Palz. Seeing a lack of books about coding for younger kids, she thought why not start them a little earlier? Coding Palz is for kids ages 3-8. So far, the first four books are already on Amazon, but the entire series will have 20 books. Hameed has set up an Indiegogo campaign to help fund the rest of the series.
The Flatiron School Raises $9 Million In Series B Funding (TechCrunch)
The Flatiron School, an educational platform aimed at getting young kids and adults comfortable with programming, has today announced the close of a $9 million Series B funding round led by Thrive Capital with participation from CRV and Matrix. The idea behind Flatiron School is that anyone, young or old, can learn to code over the course of 12 weeks, to the extent that they could go out and get a programming job afterward. In fact, Flatiron School says that out of its adult program, 99 percent of its students are placed in technology jobs at major tech companies (like Google, Intel, etc.) upon graduation.
XPRIZE: Programming for Kids: Way More Fun Than It Sounds (ImpactX)
At an early age, many kids get computer-like games designed to teach things like basic reading and math skills. Once in school, computers and tablets are as commonplace in the classroom as notebooks (the kind filled with paper, not keyboards). The result is that young children are more computer literate than ever, and often want to learn how to program devices or create their own apps long before they set foot in a computer science class. Fortunately, some new crowd-funded products are on the way to help kids learn to code. Hackaball is a tiny computer encased in a durable plastic ball that lights up, makes sounds and even vibrates.
Iowa
STEM Council Awards Scale Up Programs Across Iowa (KIOW)
The Iowa Governor?s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Council will impact more than 100,000 Iowa learners through approximately 2,818 educators in year four of the statewide STEM Scale-Up initiative for the 2015-2016 academic year. Through a rigorous review process, the STEM Council selected 14 high-quality STEM programs across Iowa?s schools, after-school programs and other settings for grades pre-K through 12. These programs range from building robots and wind turbines to virtual reality and STEM career awareness, demonstrating an appeal to diverse youth, success in improving academic performance, evidence of integrating STEM concepts, development of school-business-community partnerships and sustainability beyond STEM Council financial support.
STEM Food & Ag
No More Expiration Dates: MIT Is Developing Sensors To Detect When Food Is Going Bad (Fast Co.Exist)
 One reason the U.S. wastes 40% of all the food it harvests is that we don't have a good handle on the status of that food. As consumers, we rely largely on best before and use by dates that are notoriously conservative, and often flat-out wrong. Actual food decays at variable rates that aren't reflected in that information. That's why new types of food quality sensors could be so useful. If we can assess the actual state of each food item, that should allow us to make more informed choices and thus manage our fridges better. All things being equal, better information ought to lead to better decision-making. One promising technology: the sensors being developed by Timothy Swager's lab at MIT. Swager is testing an electrically-conductive material that changes resistance in the presence of gases called amines, which are released when food starts going bad |
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Million Women Mentors Bi-Weekly Update: April 17, 2015
sm.jpg) Check out the latest updates from the Million Women Mentors Campaign with the MWM Bi-Weekly Newsletter! In this edition, we welcome ORAU and Spark 101 as new MWM partners, updates from our upcoming Solving the Equation TownHall with AAUW, and lots of Women in STEM News!
Lockheed Martin Code Quest To Challenge And Inspire Hundreds Of Computer Programming Students
 Hundreds of high school students will visit several Lockheed Martin facilities across the U.S. to compete in a computer programming competition in the corporation's Fourth Annual Code Quest on April 18. Lockheed Martin developed Code Quest to challenge and inspire tomorrow's "coders" (programmers) to pursue information technology degrees as part of its focus on STEM outreach. Students will work in small teams through a set of coding challenges developed by Lockheed Martin information technology professionals, who will also assist students during the event. "From the gadgets in our hands to the vehicles that will explore deep space, programmers are advancing technology and changing our world," said Anne Mullins, Lockheed Martin chief information officer.
Johnson County Library MakerSpace Receives Three-Year Gift From Black & Veatch
 When Johnson County Library?s MakerSpace reopens in 2016 as part of the larger Central Resource Library?s renovation, it will boast six times the current square footage. With the added space comes an opportunity for new tools and technology to inspire the next generation of builders. Global engineering and construction company Black & Veatch is joining forces with the Library as part of the company?s growing STEM outreach. Johnson County Library will rename the facility the ?Black & Veatch MakerSpace.? The partnership is the first of its kind in the Library?s history, with the Library?s foundation joining with Black & Veatch?s Building a World of Difference Foundation to expand the MakerSpace?s size and scope. |
