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Diversity in STEM
Lockheed Martin donates $500,000 for girls STEM education (District Chronicles)
Girls Inc. National has received a one year, $500,000 grant from Lockheed Martin to strengthen its [STEM] programming for 500 girls ages 9-12. Lockheed Martin�s new financial commitment comes on the heels of a successful 2013 pilot program, which paired program participants with Lockheed Martin mentors at five Girls Inc. locations. At the conclusion of that program, girls reported increased interest in studying STEM, positive experiences with female role models and a heightened awareness that a STEM career is a good choice for girls. �Our affiliate is thrilled to be partnering with Lockheed Martin on STEM initiatives for girls in our community,� said Denese Lombardi, executive director of Girls Inc. of the Washington, D.C. Metro Area.
Diversity: Pride in science (Nature)
In this newly open environment, LGBT scientists are finding it easier to declare themselves � or at least, to think about doing so. �I�m getting a constant stream of e-mails from young scientists: �Can I meet with you?�,� says Ben Barres, a Stanford neuroscientist who transitioned from female to male in 1997, and who has become a prominent spokesman for LGBT issues in science. But just as for ethnic minorities and women, there is still a long way to go. Many LGBT scientists fear coming out � if only because publications, career progression and promotion are based heavily on the judgement of fellow scientists, which might be influenced by conscious or unconscious bias. And many students may be avoiding a research career entirely � although no one knows, because no one has counted.
Women Are Majoring In The Lower-Paying STEM Fields (FiveThirtyEight)
In my article on college majors, I point out that it�s a mistake to treat STEM majors as a single category. Majoring in technology, engineering or math does generally lead to a well-paying job. But the sciences, especially life sciences, are a different story. The median salary for a recent graduate with a degree in biology, for example, is just $33,400, putting the major solidly in the bottom half of all fields. There�s another difference between the �S� and �TEM� parts of STEM: gender. Women make up almost exactly half of all recent STEM graduates. But they make up less than a quarter of all graduates in the 20 highest-paying STEM fields, and more than two-thirds of graduates in the 20 lowest-paying majors.
Rachel E. Scherr (Senior Research Scientist, Seattle Pacific University): What keeps girls from studying physics and STEM (Seattle Times)
Every student returning to school this fall should have the opportunity to prepare for the rapidly growing job opportunities in [STEM]. But many students, especially women and underrepresented minorities, needlessly opt out � or are shut out � of discovering a passion or talent for one of these subjects. Physics is among the least diverse of the sciences, with only 20 percent of bachelor�s degrees going to women and fewer than 10 percent to underrepresented minorities. The field needs to catch up to biology and chemistry, which have almost closed the gender gap at the undergraduate level. At the graduate-study level, all three sciences fail to attract enough women students. 
Higher Education
University of California launches $250 million venture fund (Silicon Valley Business Journal)
University of California will launch an independent fund to fuel investments in companies powered by its research, the university system announced Monday. The fund, initially funded by up to $250 million from UC's Office of the Chief Investment Officer, will launch next year. No tuition or state funding will be used. The proposal is subject to approval by the UC Regents, who will vote on it Thursday. The announcement comes nearly three months after UC President Janet Napolitano allowed UC�s 10 campuses, including UC Berkeley and UCSF, to directly invest in faculty startups in exchange for use of university facilities and services.
University of Memphis gets $1M donation (Memphis Business Journal)
The estate of Patricia T. Ring has donated $1 million to the University of Memphis� Herff College of Engineering. The donation was made in honor of Bob Ring, founder of Ring Cos., which is based in Oakland, Tennessee. In January, the University of Memphis and Ring established the Ring Companies Chair at the school, which is awarded to a distinguishes scholar and teacher in the engineering department. Samanta Acharya, a professor in the mechanical engineering department, is the first Ring Companies Chair. The Ring Companies Chair was established in 2005 when Bob Ring died. Patricia Ring, his wife, died earlier this year, which led to the latest $1 million donation.
Y Combinator Will Teach A Class On Startups At Stanford This Fall (TechCrunch)
Startup accelerator Y Combinator is a helpful resource for entrepreneurs looking for mentorship through the tough process of building a company. Unfortunately, it�s a very resource-intense program, in that the accelerator�s partners can only devote time to so many startups without being stretched too thin. While hundreds of entrepreneurs get to go through the program each year, there are thousands more around the world who could benefit from the lessons imparted at YC. Y Combinator president Sam Altman says he started kicking that idea around about a year ago, and the result is a new lecture-based class at Stanford called �How to Start a Startup.�
STEM Events
Webinar: Engineering the Maker Movement (ASME)
The Maker Movement has seen the resurgence of "tinkering" and DIY innovation, as a surge of creativity has swept the world in recent years, giving many hope that a new era in U.S. engineering and manufacturing is underway. Join ASME.org for a special webinar event with White House Maker Faire participants Jason Dunn, CTO of Made in Space, and Dr. Manu Prakash, inventor of the Foldscope. Event Date & Time: September 18, 2014 at 02:00 PM EST. Duration: 60 minutes. J
Join the STEP Webinar: Why wait? Using Early Undergraduate Research to Improve the STEM Educational Experience and Retain Talented Students. Sept 23rd 2:00pm EDT (STEP)
The first year of a university experience should provide a new stimulus for intellectual growth and a firm grounding in inquiry-based learning. It is in the first year that new students begin to match their aspirations with the learning opportunities and resources of the institution. After a very brief review of some programs that have effectively used early research in the first year, we will immediately invite participants to discuss the use of early research at their institutions from bridge research programs through research experiences in the sophomore year. Participants will discuss and reflect upon the feasibility of implementing early research at their institution.
Viewpoints
Frank Catalano: How Microsoft can use Minecraft to build its education strategy (GeekWire)
If you need any more proof that video games are becoming an accepted part of our culture, consider that the White House just brought 100 top game designers to town to show off their skills. Over the weekend, Obama administration science and technology advisors fed the group pizza, coffee and Red Bull in a two-day, red-eyed effort to develop a batch of cutting-edge educational games. The developers showed off their designs at the White House. The weekend "game jam" was part of a broader effort by the administration to get technology companies interested in investing, even experimentally, in education.
Vala Afshar (Chief Marketing Officer, Extreme Networks): 5 Must-Have IT Skills For The Future of Work (HuffPost ImpactX)
The fact that data has the power to change our business and personal lives has put data science and analytics at the center of how marketing is done. Every digital click, swipe, "like", buy, comment and search produces a unique virtual identity - something that Malcom Frank, EVP of strategy and marketing for Cognizant, calls a Code Halo(TM), a.k.a. digital exhaust. But in order to use data to drive meaningful results companies need to know what they're looking for and how to make correlations. Businesses such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon have had an unprecedented growth in value based on their ability to perform mass customization - creating new expectations in consumers and causing businesses in every industry to change the way they work
STEM Competitions
U.S. teens win European robotics contest (Washington Post)
Romania's Black Sea coast isn�t a popular beach destination for American teenagers. But three girls from Washington state headed to the Eastern European resort area last month not to bask in the sun but to compete in a contest for underwater robots. Haley McConnaughey, Hannah McConnaughey and Annika Hustad built an underwater remote-operated vehicle (ROV) out of PVC pipe, the paper feeder from a printer, part of a boat�s water pump, pool noodles and other odds and ends. The ROV took on similar robots at the Black Sea International ROV Competition and Exhibition, which put the robots through eight timed challenges.
Texas
Science education group raises red flag about Texas textbooks (Politico)
The NCSE, which has clashed with the Texas school board before over its treatment of evolution, points to �deeply concerning� sections in several geography, world culture and economics texts. One sixth-grade book, for instance, introduces global warming this way: �Scientists agree that Earth�s climate is changing. They do not agree on what is causing the change.� That�s highly misleading, the NCSE contends, because the vast majority of active climate experts, as well as the overwhelming majority of published research papers, agree that human activity is driving climate change.
South Dakota
SD Board of Education sets sights on new science, arts, and technology standards (KEVN)
New state standards for science, educational technology, and the fine arts may be coming to public schools in the Mt. Rushmore State. The state Board of Education convened in Rapid City to hold the first of four meetings to discuss the proposed changes. The board says the changes are necessary to keep South Dakota students competitive with those in other states. That's as some residents take issue with the proposed changes. One Sioux Falls woman says the proposed South Dakota standards closely resemble those of the 'Next Generation Science Standards.' |
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 STEMconnector�
STEMconnector� CSO and Telecom Executive to Keynote Third Annual STEM Education Awards
 The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) today announced keynote speakers for the Third Annual STEM Education Awards which will be held on September 26th at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center in Savannah, GA. Ted Wells, Chief Strategy Officer for STEMconnector�, and veteran technology/telecom executive, Carrie A. Wheeler are both set to address this year�s event. In his role at STEMconnector�, Wells manages a portfolio of projects relating to STEM K-12 education and workforce development. He also has led the development of STEMconnector��s Google+ On-Air Hangouts series that highlight issues in STEM education.
The EdTech Weekly Report: September 15, 2014
 This week in an all-new EdTech Weekly Report DeVry Education Group and 1871 launch EdTech startup incubator in Chicago, the gender gap in STEM MOOCs is explored in Slate, President of Coursera predicts MOOCs will "grow-up" in 2014, edX starts MOOCs and college counseling for high schoolers, and is the new Apple Watch coming to a classroom near you?
Anne Seifect accepts IASL's National STEM Professional Development Leadership Award for i-STEM [VIDEO]
 IASL's National STEM Professional Development Leadership Award was awarded to i-STEM, a professional development institute for teachers that enhances their STEM teaching, learning skills, and pedagogy. Teachers, administrators and school leaders apply from across the State of Idaho to attend the institute and many other states have followed this significant model. Ms. Anne Seifert, K12 STEM Outreach Program Manager, i-STEM Executive Director, was on hand to accept this award and is this week�s feature video in our STEM Stars Showcase series. Anne Seifert is the STEM Program Manager at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and serves as the INL�s Department of Energy Office (DOE) of Science Education Program Manager.
Higher Education Forum 2014: From The Economist - September 30, 2014 in NYC
 STEMconnector is proud to be a supporting association of the The Economist's Higher Education Forum. The Economist�s inaugural Higher Education Forum will address the major human capital challenges facing university and business leaderstoday and ask what role each stakeholder should have in improving the outlook for post-secondary schooling, its students, and the learning-to-earning pipeline in America and around the world. Rising costs, new business models driven by disruptive technologies and a broad political imperative to rethink the purpose of higher education are forcing schools today to face a make-it or break-it moment. In order to stay competitive, schools must innovate beyond the traditional framework of providing educational services. Meanwhile, organisations are rapidly adapting to the changing nature of work. This, combined with global economic uncertainty, is threatening a once-predictable applicant pool.
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