STEM Education
carlyo | June 17, 2013As announced earlier, the Festival has joined forces with U.S. News & World Report to host the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference at the Festival Expo during the week of April 21, 2014 in Washington, DC -- bringing together the largest K-12 STEM outreach event and leading advocates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from the Solutions Conference.
Today marks the start of the 2013 U.S. News STEM Solutions National Conference in Austin, Texas! The 2013 conference, titled "Teach. Inspire. Hire., will feature some of the country's most prominent change agents in…
carlyo | May 16, 2013Heroes should never be forgotten, but unfortunately too many of them in the field of science go missing from our classroom textbooks. Equally disturbing is that a disproportionate number of these heroes overlooked are women and minorities.
While the average American young person will likely have no trouble detailing the latest antics of such stars as Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, or Kanye & Kim, most, sadly, would be hard-pressed to tell you who the following trailblazers in science were:
-- Molecular biologist Rosiland Franklin, who was responsible for much of the research and discovery…
carlyo | May 6, 2013
By USA Science & Engineering Festival Founder Larry Bock
The answers to some of the biggest challenges facing us this century lie waiting to be discovered in the laboratories and institutions of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But we must remember, scientists do not operate in a vacuum in such endeavors.
Increasingly, policy makers -- often working in the highest seats of government -- are playing an important role in the research discovery scenario, including deciding which projects to fund, and assuring that scientific discoveries and their resulting impacts are sound…
carlyo | April 29, 2013By USA Science & Engineering Festival Founder Larry Bock
In what started out as a hopeful trickle more than four years ago has seemingly evolved into a full-blown trend: Suddenly it's cool and hip to be a scientist in Hollywood. Ranging from such blockbuster films as The Amazing Spiderman, Battleship, The Avengers, and Iron Man 2 to TV hits including House, Fringe, Criminal Minds, and Breaking Bad, an increasing number of Hollywood productions are using real-life scientists as advisors to not only boost the technical accuracy of scripts and video content but to also create more exciting…
carlyo | April 17, 2013Celebrating another role model in science & engineering achievement! Bonnie Dunbar played a key role in building the Space Shuttle craft and developing its thermal protection system. A veteran of five Space Shuttle flights, she today serves as a role model to thousands in STEM education and careers
To read the full biography of Bonnie Dunbar click here.
sporte | January 6, 2012This morning, I learned that congress wants to reverse the advances made by NIH and go back to restricting access to scientific publications. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (New York) and Congressman Darrell Issa (California) are co-sponsoring a bill to restore the limits on public access to NIH-funded research.
I've written many times before (here, here, here, and here) about the challenges that community college faculty and students have in getting access to scientific papers.
In an era where the economic benefits of educating students in science are well-known (1), the idea of crippling…
kcollins | December 6, 2011Global security giant Northrop Grumman Corporation is returning as a major Festival Sponsor and - in conjunction with the Northrop Grumman Foundation - is significantly enhancing the Festival's focus on technical innovation and STEM disciplines.
"Northrop Grumman Corporation, in partnership with its Foundation, is committed to inspiring and encouraging the next generation of innovators in STEM disciplines through funding and support of educational and outreach opportunities for students and teachers," says Sandra Evers-Manly, vice president of Corporate Responsibility and president of…
kcollins | September 9, 2011Jeff Goldstein is a renowned astrophysicist and director of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education in Washington DC. But he is equally known as a first-rate science educator with a knack for creating and implementing approaches in teaching that truly engage students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The teacher's job, he contends, is to "immerse the students in the act of the journey by letting them do science, and acknowledging it is their journey."
Dr. Jeff, (as students and colleagues like to call him), took his message recently to the National…
kcollins | September 2, 2011To hook kids on the excitement of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) you must not only engage them via meaningful hands-on classroom experiences, but engage them early and often, says noted outreach expert and engineering educator Elizabeth Parry.
With more than 15 years working in K-12 and higher education environments to inspire young learners in science and engineering, Elizabeth is coordinator of STEM Partnership Development at The Engineering Place in North Carolina State University's College of Engineering.
"If you really want students to learn STEM, teach them not…
kcollins | July 22, 2011Fed by the news media, our fascination and reverence for celebrities has reached shameless heights.
But when you add the element of royalty to the mix, celebrity worship can take off into the stratosphere, triggered even by an item as seemingly mundane as a dress.
This leaves me wondering -- and angered -- over what is happening to us and our priorities.
I'm referring most recently to the whirlwind North American tour this month of newly weds Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton (a.k.a. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge), who seem to be a wonderful couple committed to fostering…