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Government
Obama, Bill Gates to lead major effort to spur spending on climate research (Washington Post)
As world leaders converge on Paris for historic climate talks, a coalition of governments and private investors is preparing to launch major research initiatives that seek to pour billions of dollars into an urgent search for solutions to global warming. President Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are expected to stand with counterparts from more than 20 countries on Monday in announcing the unprecedented efforts, which are aimed at spurring rapid advances in research and development for clean energy, U.S. officials confirmed Sunday.
Rubio, H-1B visas and lost STEM jobs (The Hill)
The best question at Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) caucus event at Smokey Row Coffee in Oskaloosa, Iowa earlier this month didn't come from an Iowan. It came from a Chicago-area man who drove over 300 miles through a blizzard to ask it.. He introduced himself as Scott Szlachta, an information technology (IT) professional from a suburb north of Chicago. "I want to ask Rubio about the H-1B visa program," he told me. "OK," I said, "you'll have to explain it to me." I was ignorant of the program, and was worried that I was about to get into a dull conversation. I was wrong.
Nearly 35,000 Comment On The Proposed Changes To The STEM OPT Extension F1 Student Visa (Indian Panorama)
On Oct. 19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposal for Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students with STEM Degrees and Cap-Gap Relief for All Eligible F-1 Students. The rule will benefit the U.S. educational system by helping ensure that the nations colleges and universities remain globally competitive in attracting international students in STEM fields, said the U.S., in its description of the proposed changes. As of September, 2015, over 34,000 students were in the United States on a STEMOPT extension, according to the Federal Register. 
Higher Education
SCSU initiatives combine STEM fields with business, philosophy (New Haven Register)
Southern Connecticut State University is leading an initiative to help its science students transition from the laboratory to the boardroom. For two years under SCSU President Mary Papazian, the university has sponsored several interdisciplinary STEM initiatives that combine STEM fields with others, such as business and philosophy. Christine Broadbridge, a physics professor and director of STEM Initiatives at the university, said the programs aim is to build partnerships and create a broader base of knowledge for SCSU students.
Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, FIU partner to enhance science education (FIU News)
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science and FIU have created a partnership to strengthen science education through funding from the State of Florida. As a primary academic partner of the museum, FIU will develop a pilot program in collaboration with Frost Science to provide real-world experience in science learning for Miami-Dade County preschool children based on the museums Early Childhood Hands-On Science (ECHOS) program. FIU students will gain first-hand work experience in real classrooms focused on the importance of working with families to introduce science to preschoolers.
Diversity in STEM
The Future Of Trans*H4CK (TechCrunch)
Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, founder of Trans*H4CK, somewhat stumbled into the tech industry after graduating from Northwestern University, where he received the schools first-ever PhD in African-American studies in 2011. Despite his degree, Ziegler said he had a hard time finding a job as a black trans man. I finished school at 29, and spent all these years at school and then struggled with transgender discrimination in a way that I had never, ever before, Ziegler told me over coffee at Oaklands Awaken Cafe, located just down the street from where he hosted the first-ever Trans*H4CK.
Calif. Girl Scouts take aim at gender gap in STEM fields (Orange County Register)
Janice Stanley is pumped up, trying to get the most out of the group staring intently but quietly at her. Stanley, a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, uses robotic mannequins as a tool to train doctors, nurses, X-ray technicians and the like. But on this afternoon, there are no health professionals seated before her, though they could be someday. "Hi, guys," the cheery Stanley says. Then, instantly, she corrects herself. "Hi, girls!" The group is strictly female: 14 Girl Scout Cadettes from Tustin, California. They're all in middle school, and all made the trip to Kaiser to earn the new My STEM Life badge from Girl Scouts of Orange County.
Mala Kumar: Diversity In Tech Needs Less Buzz And More Action (TechCrunch)
I am smart. I am hardworking. I am a logical, ordered thinker. I am gay. I am brown. I am a woman. I am looking for a job in the tech industry. I say these things as a way to underpin something that must be addressed diversity in the technology workforce need less buzz and more action. Diversity in tech is a hot issue today, as it should be. If economically developed countries really are headed for the Internet of Things, everything from a clock to a toothbrush to a microwave to a belt will need some kind of code, programming, information architecture, and hardware to function.
K-12 Education
Fontbonne students visit Brown University to plant STEM seeds (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
Fontbonne Hall Academy students who are participating in the high schools Brown Pre-College Scholars Program in Engineering recently spent a day at Brown University, where they went on a guided tour of the engineering facilities and watched a chemical and mechanical engineering demonstration. The students also got the chance to sit in on an engineering class and tried their hand at solving problems. During a lunch with Brown students, the Fontbonne students learned about the university and the process of applying to attend the Ivy League university.
10 STEM-Based Activities For Computer Science Education Week (Huffington Post)
While parents and teachers alike will be busy with holiday activities throughout the month of December, they should mark their calendars from December 7-13th for Computer Science Education Week. The week, held in recognition of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who would have been 109 on December 9th, is an annual program dedicated to inspiring students from kindergarten to grade 12 to take an interest in computer science.. One way is through Code.org's Hour of Code, which provides simple games and modules designed to keep kids' interest and teach basic coding in only 60 minutes.
Viewpoints
Littlebits Founder: Want Kids Excited About STEM? Make Sure Parents Aren't Intimidated. [VIDEO] (Entrepreneur)
Much has been written about how to get kids excited about science and technology. But for LittleBits founder and CEO Ayah Bdeir, it all starts with the parents. "I think part of the challenge is that sometimes engineering is intimidating to the parents who themselves don't consider themselves tech savvy or inventors, says Bdeir. To this end, her company makes products that are gender neutral and age agnostic. Features like clear, easy-to-follow instructions help demystify technology for parents. When a project is easy to complete, parents can have a sense of accomplishment and are more excited to put together another kit -- either alone or with their kids. Says Bdeir, Sometimes you have to get the parents more comfortable.
STEM Food & Ag
The "Farm From A Box" Delivers Modern Agriculture To Places That Need It (Fast Co.Exist)
 The Farm from a Box contains everything needed to run a small, off-the-grid farm: solar panels for power, water filtration equipment, pumps for irrigation, and decent tools. There's even an on-board computer for land mapping and soil monitoring. Developed in California, the box is an all-in-one kit designed to spread modern farming techniques to where they're needed, whether that's small plots of land in Africa or refugee camps in, well, lots of places these days. "We want to develop this as a rapid response transitional food production system," says Brandi DeCarli, co-founder of the Farm from a Box project. "The box is really infrastructure for places that are struggling with a lack of infrastructure." |
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Stay Connected       
 STEMconnector®
100 CIO/CTO Leaders in STEM- Town Hall Google Hangouts
 Join us on December 8th, from 2 PM to 3 PM EST in a Google Hangout, as we gather Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers from today's most reputable organizations to lead a discussion on STEM Careers with a focus on technology and IT. We expect over 500 people from across the country to watch live, and hundreds more to watch the replay.
100 CIO/CTO Leaders in STEM- Philip Garland, Chief Information Officer at PwC
 "The explosion of data from social media (S), mobile devices (M), and analytics (A) provides an incredible array of digitized audio, visual, and sensory input. Taken together as SMAC, the vast quantities of data can feed millions of virtual neurons, creating an artificial mind. Academic curiosities in AI are fast becoming a reality. The demand for people who understand these systems, can analyze data, communicate and map robot capabilities to business needs, and lead and motivate people to change is incredible. We call these people polymaths they see all disciplines as merely languages to interact with the world. Leonardo daVinci, Steve Jobs, Isaac Newton were all polymaths; future success will rely on our ability to inspire and recruit these polymaths. We are experiencing a significant supply shortage of polymaths."
This April: Join Some of Americas Most Prominent Companies at the Festival & Expo to Inspire Students in STEM!
 Corporate America represents one of the nation's largest supporters and employers in STEM. And at the USA Science & Engineering Festival & Expo in April you'll experience the collective power of these firms when they gather as hands-on sponsors and exhibitors to wow the next generation of innovators in science and engineering! Companies such as: Lockheed Martin (the Festival's founding and presenting host), MedImmune (presenter of the Festival's Extreme STEM Symposium), InfoComm International (presenter of the Festivals Nifty Fifty school visits), Booz/Allen/Hamilton (presenter of the Festivals Career Pavilion), Chevron, Illumina, Forbes/Wolfe, Genentech, Bose, and many others.
STEM Food and Ag Council Launches Feed, Nourish, Thrive Campaign
 STEMconnector's STEM Food and Ag Council (SFAC) announced the launch of a new initiative to increase the number of people working to feed the planets growing population through STEM. The initiative, entitled Feed, Nourish, Thrive, aims to inspire the next generation of innovators in food and agricultural production. |
