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Diversity in STEM
Twitter Sets Measurable Hiring Goals for Women and Minorities (re/code)
A month ago, Twitters interim CEO Jack Dorsey told employees that diversity would soon be a company goal. Twitter was fresh off an embarrassing fraternity-themed party that only underscored Silicon Valleys reputation as a place where women and minorities are often overlooked. Today, Dorsey and Twitter followed through on that promise, and theyve got the numbers to back it up. Twitter reported its diversity metrics Friday, falling in line with the rest of Silicon Valley by reporting a predominantly white and male workforce. Two-thirds of Twitters global employee base is male, and men also claim 87 percent of the companys tech jobs; ninety percent of its U.S. employees are either white or Asian.
Women Who Inspire: Q&A with Julie Kantor (AT&T)
In our Women Who Inspire series, well be talking to influential women who are making a difference in their communities and the world at large. Through their leadership, we are inspired to do better, work smarter, and continue to create opportunities for women in STEM. Julie Kantor is a long-time advocate for STEM education. As VP and Chief Partnership Officer at STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors, she connects thought leaders in STEM to people interested in furthering their STEM education across the U.S. She also shares her expertise in STEM education on Huffington Post and was recognized by President Obama in April of 2012 for her 20-year career in education.
Ada Lovelace: STEM Jedi and inventor of computer programming [VIDEO] (Mashable)
Ada Lovelace was truly The Chosen One of the 19th century tech world. In this installment of WTF History, we dive into the world of this high society lady who was not only the daughter of famous poet Lord Byron, but was also an accomplished mathematician. The woman invented computer programming. It doesn't get any cooler than that. It was between 1842 and 1843 when she accomplished her greatest known work: a translation of Luigi Menebrea's notes on Charles Babbage's Analytical Machine, which also included her own notes on the invention itself.
Mentors Help Bridge the Gender Gap in Engineering (IEEE Spectrum)
During Estefania Ortizs first internship as a freshman computer science major, the Stanford University student felt frustrated, insecure, and unsuccessful. But when she sought a mentors advice three-quarters of the way through her internship, she received valuable guidance on what to expect and how to salvage the experience. Managers are not like teachers, her mentor taught her, and she shouldnt expect encouragement and regular feedback. This mentor was saying, Pick your battles. Focus on networking. Basically, she gave me a strategy to end on a good note, says Ortiz, who begins her senior year this fall. That conversation with my mentor changed my whole course. 
Summer of STEM
Making Hands On Marine Science Education Within Everyone's Reach [RADIO] (KAZU)
For kids growing up on the Central Coast, actually getting to the ocean can depend on their socioeconomic status or where their families live. Some young people surf and explore in the tide pools, while others never visit the Bay. But here's some good news: the Monterey Bay region is teeming with programs to inspire the next generation of marine scientists, no matter who they are or where they come from. Point Lobos just south of Carmel attracts kids from all over the region. Its a place where they can see whales migrating off in the distance and get up close with smaller sea creatures during low tide. This summer many of those were kids and their counselors from Camp SEA Lab.
Higher Education
Science Foundation pumps more money to cyber training (The Hill)
The National Science Foundation has awarded New Yorks Pace University a $2.5 million grant to train young cybersecurity professionals. The five-year grant will directly support three to four students per year, as well as contribute to outreach programs and student research. The grant is an extension of the CyberCorps program, which received $1 million from the NSF over the last five years. The move is part of a growing push to address the dearth of qualified cybersecurity professionals across both the private and the public sectors.
SIUE students explore space and encourage STEM Learning (River Bender)
Rebecca Krasnys love of science started at a young age, fueled in part by field trips she took to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Now a sophomore biological sciences major, specializing in medical science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Rebecca returned to the space exploration landmark this summer as a Noyce intern working with the Adler Teen Programs. Space science has always held a sort of elusive interest to me, said Krasny. Its something Ive always found fascinating, but never thought Id be able to fully understand. The internship at Adler was an amazing opportunity to expand my horizons and allowed me to explore and gain exposure to a topic Ihadnt looked at much recently.
UC Berkeley to receive a $2M grant (KRON)
Thursday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee announced that University of California at Berkeley would receive a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundations (NSF) Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities program, which seeks to support researchers engaged in advanced fundamental engineering research. This funding will support project research that has the potential to improve high-speed data communications through physics and engineering. The project will also support Berkeleys recruitment and training efforts of underrepresented students, especially students of color and women, in the fields of science and engineering.
STEM Jobs
Can veterans solve the skills gap in manufacturing? (Strategic Sourceror)
While the manufacturing sector has improved since the Great Recession, it's not in top shape yet. The industry still lacks skilled workers to fill positions. According to a report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, approximately 2 million positions will go unfilled in the next decade because of the declining number of people entering the sector to replace retiring baby boomers. Manufacturers have been targeting school-aged young adults to boost interest in the sector, but there may be another group that companies are excluding. Veterans are already trained in [STEM], which means there are a number of skilled workers just waiting to be employed throughout the supply chain.
Nevada
Nevada governors science office revived, gets new director (AP)
The Governors Office of Science, Innovation and Technology is getting a fresh start and a new director after being defunct for years. Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Wednesday that Brian Mitchell will be the offices program director. Mitchell previously served as an education fellow in the governors office. The office will coordinate efforts between K-12 schools and colleges to improve [STEM] education and ensure Nevadas workforce meets the needs of a high-tech economy. Sandovals personnel announcement is his second within the week geared toward building a more advanced workforce. He announced last week that he was appointing state Superintendent Dale Erquiaga as his chief strategy officer.
Ohio
Bill seeks ethics education for engineers (The Daily Reporter)
State Reps. Louis Blessing III and Al Landis have introduced a bill into the Ohio General Assembly that would require professional engineers to complete continuing professional development hours in professional ethics or rules relevant to engineering or surveying practices. In developing this bill, the recurring question I had was What are ethics? Of course, I know what ethics are, but what does ethics mean in the engineering profession, Landis, R-Dover, said in sponsor testimony for House Bill 236 before the House Commerce and Labor Committee.
STEM Food & Ag
Farmworkers See Jobs, Earnings Shrivel In California Drought (NPR)
 More than 21,000 people are out of work this year from California's drought, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The majority are in agriculture. Those farmworkers lucky enough to have a job are often working harder for less money. Leaning forward and crouching from the waist, Anastacio picks strawberries from plants about as tall as his knees. We're not using his last name because Anastacio and his family are undocumented. He's working in an organic field in Watsonville, near Santa Cruz. This year, he's averaging about half as many boxes of berries as he usually does. "We are earning less money because we are done with work early, and there is less fruit," he says in Spanish. A steady stream of sweat pours off his brow. |
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Stay Connected       
 STEMconnector®
ICYMI: STEM Town Hall- Leveraging Game-Based Learning to Increase STEM Engagement
 STEMconnector®, in collaboration with MIND Research Institute, hosted a STEM Town Hall on August 25th entitled "Leveraging Game-Based Learning to Increase STEM Engagement." For this event, we looked beyond the achievement gap and into the "experience gap" where too many students are lacking the rich mathematical experiences that lead to deeper mathematical understanding and greater joy in the learning process. In a STEM-focused world, students of all backgrounds need these experiences to see themselves as capable mathematical thinkers and problem solvers. Game-based learning is widely used in classrooms to engage students while fostering deeper learning that meets educational goals. The Town Hall saw an authority on game-based learning, a professional game designer, educators , a corporate supporter, and students discuss their experiences building their own math games and getting hands-on with learning.
Back-to-school boost: Duke Energy awards $3 million in education grants
 Students and teachers are getting a back-to-school boost through grants totaling $3 million to more than 50 schools and educational organizations in North Carolina. The grants, from the Duke Energy Foundation, will enhance programs and initiatives focused on childhood reading proficiency, along with [STEM]. The Duke Energy Foundation awarded $865,000 to childhood literacy programs aimed at closing the achievement gap and ending the cycle of poverty that often separates low-income students from their peers.
Visualizations the Focus of New Earth Science Week Site
 Science teachers and students can go online today to use a new educational resource of the Earth Science Week website, the "Visualizing Earth Systems" page, which features instructive visualizations of Earth science phenomena. Educators know the power of compelling visualizations, those that graphically depict data in ways that help students grasp challenging concepts. Now Earth science teachers have a collection of such visualizations, right at their fingertips. Supporting the Earth Science Week 2015 theme of "Visualizing Earth Systems," this new page on the program website links educators and students to dozens of recommended visualizations dealing with energy, climate, minerals, water, hazards, and other topics. Earth Science Week 2015 will be celebrated October 11-17.
Marina Stenos: Game On! Why figuring out game-based learning matters now more than ever
 Whether its the fight over higher standards, assessments, school choice or teacher quality, national opinions are fraught with the emotional load of parental and societal concerns that we do right by our children. Education, once the mom and apple pie of bipartisan collaboration, has become a battleground of politics and privilege, which is to say nothing of the disruption technology has brought into our nations classrooms over the past decades. |
