Science festival
carlyo | April 20, 2014Guest Blog by Dr. Catherine MohrSenior Director of Medical Research, Intuitive SurgicalUSA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM Speaker
I work on surgical robots - at the intersection of cool, high tech, and helping people get well. One of the things I like most is that my job changes every day as I look for new technologies that might help us improve patient outcomes. For example, one day we may play with new kinds of lasers for cutting bone, the next we are looking for new less invasive ways of accessing the body to do more effective surgeries, and the next we are looking out 10 to 15…
carlyo | April 18, 2014
Many people know Walmart as the largest corporate retailer in the world, but did you also realize it is a leading innovator and employer in STEM? At Festival Expo 2014, you'll discover in unforgettable ways this other side of Walmart, which this year is serving as an Americum-level Sponsor of the Festival!
Walmart's imprint on STEM is significant worldwide, and is especially noted for: developing ways to make its foods more healthful by reducing sodium, sugar and fat; designing high-tech fleet trucks; working with farmers to produce better crop yields; creating energy-efficient retail…
carlyo | April 17, 2014You could call them child or teen prodigies – wunderkinds, who at remarkable young ages have already begun making their mark upon science and technology as innovators and visionaries. The USA Science & Engineering Festival not only applauds such young achievers, but is recruiting some of the best of them to serve on its new Youth Advisory Board.
The achievements of these recently-appointed board members will not only help us further excite, inspire and reach out to more students during the Festival next week, but will also call attention to the impressive cadre of young talent that is on…
carlyo | April 16, 2014Guest Blog By Festival X-STEM Speaker and Expo Performer Dr. Joe Schwarcz
“Hey, aren’t you somebody?” the teenager queried as I got into the elevator. While I was pondering an appropriate answer to this deeply philosophical question, his crony spilled the beans: "Yeah, he's that guy who talks about chemistry on TV." This was just the ammunition the philosopher needed. "Oh no, we're locked in an elevator with a scientist" he mocked, before volunteering the information that he got about 2% in chemistry in high school, and "that was with cheating."
Sadly, I've heard such comments before. After…
carlyo | April 7, 2014By Rick Ambrose, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
It’s time to let the next generation in on a secret.
The fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) aren’t just where the jobs are. They’re where the excitement is as well.
I’ve spent the past 30 years leading aerospace and technology teams, and I think we have the best jobs in the world. Who designs spacecrafts that speed from Earth toward distant planets? We do. Who builds satellites that save lives by tracking global weather patterns? That’s us, too.
We often talk about STEM in terms of…
carlyo | March 28, 2014
In an eventful two-day affair hosted by Anderson's Bookshops, don't miss the opportunity to meet and hear some of the nation's most exciting and inspiring authors in STEM at the Festival Expo's Book Fair.
Hear these authors talk about their books and adventures, April 26-27, 2014, plus get your favorite must-have books autographed. The Book Fair will also feature STEM-related games toys and learning kits for kids of all ages, and those who are kids at heart!
Here are just some of the amazing authors you will experience:
Michio Kaku. What does the future hold for the human mind and…
carlyo | March 21, 2014Get ready as Festival Expo 2014 introduces you to a growing number of women innovators who are spearheading efforts to create exciting ways to inspire the next generation of female scientists and engineers! This includes designing STEM-inspired toys for young girls, immersing them in positive experiences that dispel the ¨nerd¨ stereotype that STEM-motivated females often encounter, and writing books featuring amazing STEM heroines.
Titled "Meet the Women Leaders Spearheading Cool and Fascinating Ways to Inspire Girls in STEM", this must-see performance panel in April will be moderated by…
carlyo | March 19, 2014When it comes to wowing young learners with a wide array of exciting hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the Chevron STEM Zone exhibit ranks among the nation's best! Get ready when the "STEM Zone" lives up to its reputation during its debut at the Festival Expo in April, bringing to visitors a smorgasbord of dynamic, interactive science demonstrations in one 3600 square-foot location.
Chevron, which joins the Festival this year as a major sponsor, has used its STEM Zone with great success as a popular science outreach extravaganza throughout the…
carlyo | March 18, 2014By Shawn Flaherty
The first ever X-STEM: Extreme STEM Symposium—presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune—kicks-off the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo and Book Fair, hosted by founding and presenting sponsor Lockheed Martin. Being held on April 24th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC, X-STEM is a “TED-style” event for kids with talks by 50 of the nation's most noted science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals representing top universities, corporations, non-profits, and governmental agencies.
“X-STEM is the perfect…
carlyo | March 17, 2014Renowned publication Scientific American is returning to the Festival as a key Media Sponsor, ready to wow students, teachers and the public with a wide assortment of activities based on content from the magazine as well as other divisions of its parent company, Macmillan Science & Education.
Under the theme, ¨Helping Curious Minds Achieve Great Things," Scientific American's exhibit is set to inspire visitors across a broad spectrum, from K-12 learners and teachers to college students to the general science enthusiast. The activities are designed to inspire a lifelong journey of…
carlyo | January 28, 2014Gerty Theresa Cori -- Biochemist
Often considered one of the greatest women scientists of the 20th century. The first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine; known for her discovery (with husband Carl Cori and physiologist Bernardo Houssay) of how the body metabolizes glucose
Born Gerty Theresa Radnitz in 1896 in Prague (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Czech Republic), Gerty grew up at a time when women were marginalized in science and allowed few educational opportunities. However, at age sixteen and influenced by her uncle, (who was a professor of…
carlyo | January 27, 2014Guest Blog By Melissa Rhoads, biotechnology strategist at Lockheed Martin
Every New Year’s Eve, my siblings and cousins wrote down what we wanted to be when we grew up, and year after year, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. It was not until I cleaned manure all day at a volunteer zoo event that I realized I wanted to explore other options.
So how did I find my passion? Well, I love to solve problems, and at its core, engineering is problem-solving. It is a way of thinking. As a result, while I started as a biology major, I graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering.…
carlyo | January 15, 2014Sometimes students get the wrong message from peers: that it is not cool to be smart in science and other STEM disciplines. But biologist Joe Hanson has a more positive signal that he likes to send to kids - in fact the name of his popular science show on YouTube (via PBS Digital Studios) says it all: “It's Okay to Be Smart”. Join us at the USA Science & Engineering Festival this April as Joe, in his trademark erudite but uber cool and engaging style, brings his down-to-earth, hip style of science to kids in an unforgettable stage show, shedding light on a wide array of topics, from…
carlyo | January 12, 2014Are you wowed and awed by the mysteries of the Universe, the courage of astronauts, innovative space technologies, and stunning images from other worlds? Want to learn how you can become a space explorer?
Well, get ready to find "Your Place in Space" with The Planetary Society – the largest and most influential space interest organization on Earth – as the Society returns once more as a major Festival sponsor and presenter this April in Washington, D.C.!
Just as it did in the first two Expos, the Society will ignite enthusiasm for space science. Founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray,…
carlyo | January 8, 2014Efforts Will Bring Together Children, Families, Teachers, Businesses and World Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The USA Science & Engineering Festival (www.USAScienceFestival.org), supported by presenting host sponsor Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], is pleased to announce the passage by the U.S. Senate of Senate Resolution 329, which “Express(es) support for the goals and ideals of the biennial USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. and designati(es) the last week of April 2014 as ‘‘National Science Week.” The resolution was introduced by Sen.…
carlyo | January 7, 2014By Larry Bock
Co-Founder of USA Science Science & Engineering Festival
Like many who follow research developments in high technology, I am constantly amazed at the power of science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) to solve real-life problems -- especially problems across diverse venues and disciplines.
Take for example the research of mathematician Lloyd Shapley and economist Alvin Roth, two Americans who shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economic Science for their work in market design and matching theory -- a fascinating mathematical framework which is shedding light on…
carlyo | December 27, 2013Popular Science magazine -- one of the leading sources of news in technology, science, gadgets, space, green tech and more -- is returning as a key Media Partner with the Festival, bringing to the event not only a vast array of science media expertise, but also a special surprise: famed DIYer-at-large and zombie hunter, Chris Hackett, who is a contributing editor of Popular Science and who also hosted the Science Channel's avant garde DIY show, "Stuck With Hackett"!
Popular Science has been a major source of science and technology news since this award-winning publication was founded back in…
carlyo | November 13, 2013 Guest Blog by Cody Kangas
After nearly twelve months of planning, twelve Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers and three staff flew West to the 2013 Bay Area Science Festival, held in AT&T Ball Park (San Francisco, CA). No crew had ever flown to an event, let alone traveled further West than Minneapolis, and thus began a new era for Mind Trekkers. This marked the second stop on the USA Science & Engineering Traveling Festival tour, powered by Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers.
On Friday, 11/1, our shipping crate filled with festival supplies and equipment arrived from Houghton, and everything made…
carlyo | October 31, 2013By F. Mark Modzelewsk
Effort will highlight STEM’s massive impact on vocational education and careers
The USA Science & Engineering Festival (www.USAScienceFestival.org) is pleased to announce that mikeroweWORKS (mikeroweworks.com) will be hosting the “mikeroweWORKS Pavilion” at this year’s Festival. Today’s trade careers are being driven by hardworking, technologically-skilled workers and one of the goals of this partnership is to shine a spotlight on them at the Festival and to encourage young people to explore a multitude of career options in industries with millions of job openings.…
carlyo | October 30, 2013The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – a maestro at making science come alive for K-12 students, teachers and the public – will once more bring its magic to the Festival next year, returning as a major sponsor and presenting a reprise of its wildly popular "Meet the Scientists" and "Science of Our Senses" hands-on encounters at Festival Expo 2014 – but this time with an added twist!
One of the founding sponsors of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, AAAS – the world's largest general scientific society – has long been a Festival partner, sharing common goals…