|
Million Women Mentors Fireworks
ICYMI: Recording of the #MWMFireworks Webinar from the NGCP and Million Women Mentors! (National Girls Collaborative Project)
 On July 30, 2014 the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and Million Women Mentors (MWM) hosted a webinar to spotlight the importance of role models and mentors for empowering girls and young women to actively pursue STEM education and careers. This week, NGCP, a founding partner of the MWM initiative, announced over 100,000 new STEM mentor commitments from more than 20 states. 45,000 additional pledges came in from the Lt. Governor for Iowa, several other MWM State leader networks and The National 4-H Council.
Kentucky one of 22 states to mentor girls in STEM skills (Lane Report)
his week, the National Girls Collaborative Project, a founding partner of the Million Women Mentors (MWM) initiative, will announce over 100,000 new STEM mentor commitments from more than 20 states, including Kentucky. 45,000 additional pledges will come in from the Lt. Governor for Iowa, several other MWM State leader networks, and The National 4-H Council. The goal of the movement is to garner one million mentors in STEM professions over the next four years, to collectively increase the interest and confidence of girls and young women in these academic areas. 
Higher Education
Top 10 highest paying college majors (USA Today)
It�s true that on average college graduates make more over their lifetime than non-grads. However, not all majors pay you back the same amount. Here are 10 of the highest paying majors as ranked by College Factual. The salary data provided are all averages, and come from extensive survey data conducted by PayScale. We only use results from those with bachelor�s degrees. The figures listed are average starting salaries. It is no surprise that this top 10 list is heavily populated with STEM degrees, as they are continuously in demand.. #1: Petroleum Engineering - $89,000.
Are STEM majors getting the new �universal� degrees? (Worldmag)
While Jennifer Mok graduated with an industrial engineering degree in 2010, she now works as a management consultant for nonprofits in Washington, D.C. �I�m interested in finding more meaning in my work, rather than stability,� she said. And she�s not alone. A recent study found that 75 percent of college graduates with [STEM] degrees end up in occupations outside the STEM disciplines. Still, those graduates end up in the highest-paying jobs, according to another study. Administered by the Census Bureau, the American Community Survey found that some STEM grads chose professions that were closely related to their degree, like healthcare and construction. But others, like Mok, strayed to the business and financial industry, education, legal professions, and even the performing arts.
Summer of STEM
Drexel hosts STEM camp for middle-schoolers, thanks to Peco grant (Philadelphia Business Journal)
About 25 middle-school students from West Philadelphia are in the midst of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics-focused summer camp, hosted by Drexel University's School of Education. The camp is funded entirely by Peco Energy Co. In 2012, Peco awarded Drexel a $1 million grant to help create a collaborative education program that invests in the local community. About $150,000-$200,000 of the grant was dedicated to the STEM camp, which is now in its third and final year. It began as a one-week initiative focused on rising fifth-graders. The second year, bumped up to two weeks, was for fifth- and sixth-graders, respectively. This year, the camp is three weeks, and catered to fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders.
Foothill College summer camp opens students up to STEM (San Jose Mercury News)
Summer camp in Silicon Valley is quite far removed from the cliches of roasting marshmallows, racing canoes and singing "Kumbaya" around the campfire. Camp around here is more along the lines of 3D printing, nanotechnology and forensics. Foothill College just wrapped up a packed four-week STEM Summer Camp that saw the campus turn into a living laboratory for hundreds of Bay Area high school and middle school students to learn topics related to [STEM]. The camp saw overwhelming participation from students in the Cupertino Union and Fremont Union High school districts, with an estimated 40 percent of high school participants coming from Lynbrook, according to college officials.
Space camp helps kids launch love of science (Baltimore Sun)
While many of her friends spent the summer swimming or going to amusement parks, 11-year-old Asley Ventura, of Laurel, had fun participating in a space camp at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. During the two-week camp, Asley and about 30 other sixth- and seventh- graders worked closely with APL scientists and engineers on various projects and learned of the national security and space exploration work they do at APL. The students also saw a prototype of the giant heat shield that's attached to the front of space crafts, took field trips to space museums and had a chance to meet astronauts who had gone on actual space missions.
Government
Bill Foster, Congress� Science Guy (Roll Call)
Not everyone gets cards from Fermilab. Democrat Bill Foster�s Longworth office is a modest one, its small waiting area festooned with the requisite Lincolnia befitting a House member from Illinois. Amid the Land of Lincoln regalia is a more personal effect of the man who represents the 11th District, offering a hint of his role as Congress� science guy. Displayed on the shelves are greetings and salutations from his friends at Fermilab, the national laboratory where Foster helped hunt down the top quark and pursue other experimental physics for nearly a quarter century. The snow-scaped image of Fermilab�s upside-down-Y-shaped Wilson Hall helps define who Foster is: a man whose scientific acumen has informed his life as an entrepreneur, physicist and public servant.
Diversity in STEM
How to diversify STEM workforce? Your Say Interactive (USA Today)
Are complaints about a lack of qualified Americans to fill [STEM] jobs misplaced? According to recent Census Bureau data (which shows that only one in four STEM degree holders is in a STEM job) and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, whose Rainbow PUSH Coalition is spearheading an initiative to get more qualified minorities into Silicon Valley, they certainly are. The lack of minority representation in the tech industry, according to Jackson, who recently spoke to USA TODAY's Editorial Board, is not about lack of talent, but poor hiring practices that favor H-1B holders and white and Asian males over other qualified Americans. The government needs to intervene, Jackson said, to hold businesses such as Google accountable.
Young Women Learn About Science Careers At Ohio State [VIDEO] (NBC4i)
Ohio State's Women in Engineering (WiE) program is sponsoring a summer science camp for secondary school students to draw young women to careers in science and mathematics. The OSU Engineering Department has opened up several laboratories for students to gain hands-on experience in mechanical engineering projects with real-world applications, ranging from the acceleration due to gravity to monorails, hovercrafts and 3-D printing technology. A National Science Foundation (NSF) report in 2012 surveyed the STEM fields and found participation of women in ranged from 13 to 26 percent of the workforce in these fields.
Mother-Daughter Entrepreneurs Work to Advance Youth STEM Education (Black Enterprise)
The incentivized push to create more spheres of influence around [STEM] is now more prevalent than ever. With so many fruitful opportunities, mother-daughter duo Rachel and Kelley Williams aim to ensure that the next generation of students is introduced to these concepts at an earlier age. Based in Evanston, Illinois, the Williams created The Honey Bee Co., a family-owned and operated business dedicated to inspiring hard work, integrity, and education within the community. Their collaboration has resulted in the creation of Paige & Paxton, two adorable puzzle piece characters that are siblings who embark on adventures fueled by science and technology.
Industry
Alcoa awards Boys and Girls Club grant for STEM program (Hutchinson (KS) News)
Alcoa announced it has awarded its annual Alcoa Foundations Grant of $15,000 to the Boys and Girls Club in Hutchinson. The grant money will be utilized by the club to help fund its STEM program, with the goal of cycling more than 550 kids through the program over the next year. �We felt this was a great opportunity to connect and help support our younger generation in the Hutchinson area," said Jeremy Pepper, Operations Manager for Alcoa. "Our success and future depends on them. We are excited about our partnership and look forward to seeing what the future holds� Boys and Girls Club activities are available year round to children age 6 to 18.
Masschusetts
Natick�s Doug Scott Named 2014 Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year (The Patriots)
Natick High School science teacher Doug Scott has been named The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year. He will be honored at the 2014 Massachusetts STEM Summit on Oct. 22 at Worcester�s DCU Center and his school will receive $5,000 to be used for STEM education. �I am honored to be selected for this award,� Scott said. �I know there were many worthy candidates and I want to thank the committee for their dedication to STEM education. As teachers, I think we all try to have a positive impact on our students and that is certainly what I have tried to do with students of all levels and ability.�
Ohio
Mobile labs to promote manufacturing still short of funding (Columbus Business First)
An eight-county group of Ohio manufacturers, economic developers and schools has raised about a third of the $1.4 million it says it needs to build mobile manufacturing labs. The coalition has raised $450,000 from companies like Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. in Marysville and KTH Parts in Champaign County, and is seeking more money to complete the project by next year. Its goal is to entice young people to manufacturing while they�re still young. Manufacturing jobs, though nowhere near their peak, are still being unfilled. Retirements and an inability to attract youth to the industry because of its old reputation hinder employment.
STEM Food & Ag
A Cheap Solar-Powered Oven That Bakes Bread Without Pollution (Fast Co.Exist)
.jpg) Millions of people in the developing world still use wood and coal for cooking. That's far from ideal: The fuels tend to be arduous to collect or relatively expensive. They produce fumes that cause health problems. And, they're not sustainable: using wood contributes to deforestation. This ingenious solar oven, designed by four students from the U.K., aims to do away with all that. It consists of a 16 foot parabolic dish that collects solar energy and directs it to a cooking box. "It's a like a greenhouse," says one student, Keno Mario-Ghae. "We have glass around the outside, then a box in the center. That allows us to get the heat in and get it nice and hot, but not let the heat leave." |
 |
Stay Connected
      
 STEMconnector�
Report Recommends New Approach to U.S. Manufacturing�s Youth Outreach and Training
 With over 600K positions currently vacant and over half of their workforce just a few years from retirement, U.S. manufacturing firms face a serious lack of young, skilled workers. Immediate changes in career education and training are needed to ensure the industry can meet its future hiring needs. Hope Street Group, a nonprofit organization focused on U.S. economic opportunity, released a report today that highlights student, educator and employer perspectives into this issue, along with strategies for manufacturing employers to collaborate with educators on youth outreach and training. The report, Missing Makers: How to Rebuild America�s Manufacturing Workforce, found that American youth are getting fewer opportunities to experience technical trades directly. This problem is exacerbated by systemic challenges that prevent educators and employers from creating opportunities to expose young people to manufacturing careers.
NAPE Education Foundation Partners with Freescale Foundation to Provide Professional Development in Austin Ind. School District
 The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) Education Foundation will receive funding and support from the Freescale Foundation for teacher professional development programming for 25 secondary science and mathematics teachers and instructional specialists in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Texas. The Freescale Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization focused on [STEM]. The research-based professional development program, Micromessaging to Reach and Teach Every Student (Micromessaging), is designed to increase the success of students in STEM with an emphasis on underrepresented populations, including females, minorities, and low-income students.
Branstad, Reynolds highlight success of STEM education in Iowa three years after the initiative�s launch
 Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today were joined at their weekly press conference by Dr. Jeff Weld, executive director of the Governor�s STEM Advisory Council and Shelly Vanyo, a science teacher at Boone High School, to highlight Iowa�s STEM initiative, three years after it was established by Executive Order 74. �It�s remarkable what a dedicated group of Iowans can accomplish. Gov. Branstad and I knew that to prepare our children for a globally competitive job market, we had to promote and provide a quality STEM education,� said Reynolds, who serves as the Governor�s STEM Advisory Council co-chair with Vermeer CEO Mary Andringa. �Today, over 3,000 classrooms and clubs involving more than 100K young Iowans were involved in STEM in 2013-14, and the program continues to expand its reach to every corner of the state with each passing year.�
Damon A. Williams, Ph.D.: Out-of-School STEM: Inspiring Underrepresented Youth to Change the World
 Several weeks ago, Eddie Cuba, 11, met President Obama at the White House Science Fair in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as one of the million kids who have been inspired by STEM through the Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) initiative. Thanks to this initiative, Eddie had the opportunity to join a new program at Boys & Girls Club of Paterson & Passaic called Do-It-Yourself (DIY) STEM because he really enjoys learning science in a different environment after school, making rockets and light bulbs with friends. |
