|
Government
'Threat-sharing' cybersecurity bill introduced in U.S. House (Reuters)
Leaders of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee introduced legislation on Tuesday to make it easier for companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government, without the fear of being sued. Prompted in part by high-profile cyber attacks on corporations, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act has significant bipartisan support. Although privacy activists worry that it could lead to more surveillance, proponents say the measure has strong backing from the business community and a good chance of being passed by Congress. The intelligence panel is due to vote on the legislation on Thursday.
Neil G. Ruiz (Senior Policy Analyst): A smarter way to retain STEM foreign students (Brookings Institute)
Despite the political and legal fights standing in the way of President Obamas executive actions to expand relief for undocumented immigrant children and parents, other executive actions on immigration are moving forward. Starting in May, spouses of H-1B workers can apply for employment authorization. Next up are steps to improve the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. A November 2014 executive action tasked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with developing recommendations on how to expand OPT, which allows foreign-student graduates on F-1 visas to work full time in the United States for up to 12 months (29 months for STEM degree holders) after receiving their U.S. degrees.
Alexander Says NIH And FDA Must Keep Pace With Todays Cutting-Edge Scientific Advances (The Chattanoogan)
At the second hearing on the committees bipartisan initiative to examine the process for getting medical products through discovery and development into medicine cabinets, Senator Lamar Alexander told the story of 3-year-old Tennessean whose struggle with cystic fibrosis illustrates why were embarking on this effort and why its so important for us to get a result. Last week Ginger Birnbaum from Chattanooga visited my office and told me about her 3-year-old son, King. King has cystic fibrosis, and today there is no medicine to treat his form of the disease. Kings family must simply treat his symptoms.
President Obama Taps Twitter Vet Jason Goldman As White Houses First Chief Digital Officer (TechCrunch)
President Obama announced this morning that Jason Goldman, a longtime tech industry executive best known for his work alongside Ev Williams during the formative years of products such as Blogger, Twitter, and Medium, has been named the White Houses first-ever Chief Digital Officer. The news was first reported by Politico. Goldman will be overseeing the White Houses digital outreach and leading its Office of Digital Strategy, expanding upon the duties previously spearheaded by erstwhile Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer. Goldman brings new energy and coveted expertise as someone whos helped shape the digital age, Obama said in a quote to Politico. 
STEM Competitions
Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow contest inspires students to pursue STEM (Fox News)
Samantha Hoover, 14, said it didnt sink in that she would be presenting work she did for a school project at the 2015 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow event in New York City until she stepped on the plane. It was the first visit to the city for the ninth grader from James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Tritto, Hoover, and ninth grader Christopher Calambacan, 14, represented their school during a presentation at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in midtown Manhattan on March 18. Their project, Keeping Cool with Salt Water, devises a way to power cooling devices with one of their islands most plentiful resources salt water to combat the draining daily heat and humidity that uses up electricity and can be a regular source of discomfort for those living in the tropical state.
A New XPrize Spinoff Lets Anyone Create Their Own Mini World-Changing Competition (Fast Co.Exist)
You need deep pockets to launch an XPrize: Google will award $20 million to whoever comes up with its photo-transmitting moon rover, and the first tricorder will win $10 million from Qualcomm. The crowdsourced innovation model can workthe first XPrize led to a new spacecraftbut it's out of reach for those of us who want to tackle more local problems. Now a new spinoff of the XPrize Foundation, called HeroX, is for those who want to crowdsource solutions but might not have quite that much spare cash. "HeroX is basically a platform for a do-it-yourself XPrize," says Christian Cotichini, who co-founded the new site with XPrize founder Peter Diamandis and former XPrize employee Emily Fowler.
Higher Education
Texas A&M gains stature among top video game design schools (Texas A&M)
Widely known as a fertile training ground for future Hollywood special effects professionals, the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University is rapidly gaining stature among the nations leading programs in video game design. Since the Master of Science in Visualization program was founded at the College of Architecture in 1989, leading visual effects and animation companies like Industrial Light & Magic, Pixar and DreamWorks have snapped up its graduates. As it turns out, those graduates and their digital manipulation skills are also in increasingly high demand among companies looking to create the next Minecraft, Halo, or Super Mario Brothers.
Canton's St. Lawrence University gets $600K for STEM scholarships (North Country Now)
St. Lawrence University has been awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant worth $618,524 to create a liberal arts science scholars program that will assist underrepresented groups pursue STEM-related majors and careers. The Liberal Arts Science (LAS) Scholars Program at St. Lawrence will offer scholarships to 20 underrepresented students in STEM field who will major in mathematics, geology, chemistry, computer science, physics or a non-clinical track of biology. The program will award 10 scholarships to first-year students in the fall, and another 10 scholarships to incoming students the following year, the college said.
University Innovation Fellows launch #uifresh campaign (Stanford Epicenter)
Today, the University Innovation Fellows launched a campaign to expose all incoming freshmen at a school to the types of experiences in design thinking, entrepreneurship, and innovation that will attract and retain more incoming students in the STEM disciplines. According to a report published by the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, about 60 percent of students who arrive at college intending to major in STEM subjects switch to other subjects, often in their first year. To combat this trend, the University Innovation Fellows program is partnering with 10 universities and colleges to launch #uifresh (University Innovation Freshmen).
Computer Science
How the Apple App Store is Changing Computer Science Curriculums (App Developer Magazine)
The App Store kicked off a dramatic shift in the way the world perceived computer science. It enabled those who knew how to program to reach a wider audience than ever before and is now seen as an avenue for a brighter future. University enrollment in Computer Science has nearly doubled in the last 7 years and K-12 schools around the country are desperate to introduce computer science classes. This shift ocurred for a few reasons. Smartphones made software more tangible and integrated in our daily lives. Everyone now has an idea for an app that could solve a problem they have. Developments in languages and tools to support the App Store made app development far more accessible than software development previously was.
Why Universities Need to Embrace Coding Across the Curriculum (PBS)
Recently, I spoke at the SXSWedu conference in Austin about the opportunity to teach coding across university disciplines. Computer programming is quickly becoming an expected 21st century literacy, but coding is no longer limited to the realms of computer and information sciences. Technology can be used to solve problems across a range of fields, but only if we have people in those disciplines who understand how to apply it. Computer science doesnt necessarily mean coding education. Its designed to introduce algorithmic thinking and problem solving agnostic of any specific technology.
Missouri
State officials looking towards education to push more STEM jobs across the Tri-States [VIDEO] (WGEM)
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon unveiled a plan last week during a stop at BASF Chemical Plant in Palmyra, Mo., to invest more in statewide STEM education. "Not just the high schools, where we lead the country in Project Lead the Way math and science programs," Gov. Nixon said. "We want to get that down into those grade schools." Governor Nixon included $2 million in funding for 2016 to expand Project Lead the Way, a program that provides real-world STEM applications, to an additional 350 elementary schools throughout the state. "Seeing which students are interested in those sorts of things," Gov. Nixon said. "Once you do that these days, then there's plenty of pathways to get there."
Iowa
North Tama kids explore worms, spiders and STEM with lieutenant governor (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
The lowly mealworm -- with its six legs, tan abdomen and black tips -- kept not just third-graders but also Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds in rapt attention. Iowa State University Insect Zoo education coordinator Ginny Mitchell explained the critter's behaviors and challenged students to think about why the mealworm developed those attributes. But it was Rosie, the Chilean rose hair tarantula, that was the real celebrity in Spencer Karrs third-grade classroom at North Tama Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. This is amazing. This is really interesting, Reynolds told Mitchell before being whisked off to another classroom to see students and mentors in action on their fourth STEM Expert Day.
STEM Innovation
Cities Take Lead On App Development (TechCrunch)
 What kinds of apps do cities need? This is a key question that cities have been asking and answering in a range of ways in recent years. Before we even can truly answer that question, though, its key to understand the important role of cities in everyday life. We wake up in our home in a city, walk in a city, bike in a city, commute to work or school in a city, frequent local businesses for lunch in a city, and go out in the evenings in a city. All along the way local governments have a key role to play in how people experience cities. Public-sector leaders, much like their private-sector counterparts, want to develop the best user experience. City leaders nationwide want to create great places in which residents can live, work and play technology can elevate and expand these cities, with apps being a premier vehicle in which to do this. |
 |
Stay Connected       
 STEMconnector®
SEVP releases 2015 international student data, launches interactive mapping tool
 SEVIS by the Numbers, a quarterly report on international students studying in the United States, was released Wednesday by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The report highlights February 2015 data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information about international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States. New this edition, users can also visit the Study in the States website to review international student data from SEVIS by the Numbers via an interactive mapping tool. 37% of international students studying in the United States, equating to more than 400,000 individuals, were enrolled in STEM coursework in February. Eighty-six percent of international students pursuing STEM studies were from Asia.
Chris Embry Mohr Recognized for DuPont Pioneer Excellence in Agricultural Education Award
 On March 12th, DuPont Pioneer awarded the DuPont Pioneer Excellence in Agricultural Science Education Award to Chris Embry Mohr of Carlock, Illinois. This award is a partnership between DuPont Pioneer and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to recognize innovation and distinction in the field of agriculture education. Mohr was recognized at the Teacher Gala during the NSTA annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. As the DuPont Pioneer Excellence in Agricultural Science Education Award Winner, Mohr will receive a $5000 grant for classroom and program expenses.
Blending Art With Mathematics: Explore the Beauty at the Festivals X-STEM Symposium!
 Art and mathematics? The connections between the two are closer than what many educators once believed. At the USA Science & Engineering Festivals X-STEM Symposium in April, prepare to be captivated as Satyan Devadoss, a leading mathematics professor from Williams College, demonstrates how he blends concepts of algebra and geometry with art to make lofty principles of math come alive for students! He is just one of many exciting innovators youll meet at X-STEM as they bring the world of technology and science careers to life through unforgettable all-day experience of workshops and live demonstrations.
Million Women Mentors Launches New Web-Portal Technology to Elevate Women and Girls in STEM - 250,000 Have Pledged to Mentor
 Million Women Mentors (MWM) announces the release of the new portal at MillionWomenMentors.org, powered by Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), as well as the release of the MWM State of the States Report highlighting the first 29 states with our-year pledges and their strong leadership in MWM (Find the report on the web site under the Resource Section). The MWM movement will support girls and women in STEM through mentorship. The MWM team announced that over 250,000 pledges are committed since the launch January, 2014. The goal of the four year movement is to garner one million mentors (men and women) in STEM professions, to collectively increase the interest and confidence of girls and women in these high-demand and well-paying careers. The news is that 29 states that have made STEM mentor commitments along with major corporations and other organizations like Science Olympiad, National Girls Collaborative Project and The National 4-H Council. |
