On-Ramps Into Academia Workshops Held to Attract Female STEM Professors

Funded through a three-year NSF grant, the University of Washington's ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change has organized the "On-Ramps Into Academia" program to attract female engineers and scientist Ph.D's from industry into becoming university professors.  The series of two-day workshops (another will be held in 2012) provide information and tools to women who may consider becoming academic role-models for other young women entering STEM professions.  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/17/effort_at_university_of_washington_to_recruit_women_from_industry_to_academic_science

University of Washington Study Posits That Gender-Based Math Choices Made Early

An article in the Chicago Tribune cites a new study released from the University of Washington which holds that, as early as second grade, girls view math as a male-oriented subject, and personalize that view to themselves.  Researchers were not clear on the reasons for this decision - whether related to messages from media or from peers, teachers, or parents.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/family/sc-fam-0517-education-girls-math-20110517,0,190694.story

National Council on Teacher Quality Report Urges Additional Elementary Teacher STEM Preparation

“No Common Denominator: The Preparation of Elementary Teachers in Mathematics by America’s Education Schools” issued by the National Council on Teacher Quality has made five recommendations to help foster better STEM performance by students through teacher preparation:  1) make elementary teacher preparation programs more selective; 2) change teacher compensation packages to entice more STEM high-performers to enter elementary teaching; 3) include more science and math pedagogy in teacher preparation programs; 4) require math and science sub-section teacher licensure exams; and 5) explore innovative teacher staffing models for effective STEM delivery.   http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/05/us_system_fails_to_ensure_stem.html

For more information and to view/download the full report, visit http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/05/stem_paper.html

UCSB Earns Air Force/DOD Grant for Nanotechnology Research

UC Santa Barbara and its Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation recently were awarded  $14.5 million in grant funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to "investigate nano-scale computer chips and quantum computing."  One award will go toward research with quantum mechanical effects in diamonds in computer chips, including "training a new generation of quantum scientists and engineers."  A second award will be used in building 3-d computer chips combining current technology and modern nano-memristors.  http://pacbiztimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2335&Itemid=1

ExxonMobil and Hispanic Heritage Foundation Offer Opportunities for Hispanic STEM Students

ExxonMobil is partnering with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation to offer the LOFT Fellowship program for certain Hispanic students enrolled in a four-year college or university in specified engineering majors.  The Latinos On Fast Track program provides a scholarship, mentoring, and job interview possibilities.

Additionally, the 2011 Hispanic Heritage Awards for high school juniors who "demonstrate leadership in the classroom and community in an effort to encourage their peers to use education as a vehicle for success.. . Award categories include, but are not limited to: Business, Community Service, Education, Engineering and Mathematics, Healthcare and Science."  Applications are due by 1 June 2011.

For complete eligibility details and applications for these opportunities, visit ttp://www.hispanicheritage.org/loft_int.php?sec=200

"Changing the Equation" Issues States' STEM Vital Signs Report

The national "Changing the Equation" initiative recently released a states' STEM Vital Signs report, giving quick statistics on the status of STEM learning in every state in the nation, as well as general trends.  By rolling over the map of California, one can view or download a full report with statistics for our state.  Interestingly, among those statistics, which evidence persistent achievement gaps and lower performance than the national averages in a variety of categories, California does show well-respected math standards, and higher rates of college attendance and graduation, including within STEM fields.  http://www.changetheequation.org/why/stem-education-in-your-state/

How Business Should Approach Reform of STEM Education

In an interview with Andrew Kelly, Education News columnist Michael F. Shaughnessy of Eastern New Mexico University reports the views that business leaders must take a more pro-active and perhaps controversial role to prod STEM education reforms.  Kelly opines that businesses must focus not only on math and science proficiency for the general STEM workforce, but also on high-performing STEM innovators and entrepreneurs which will fuel American economic competitiveness.  Business must also back revolutionary reform efforts, provide expertise and guidance, and monitor the initiatives' progress or lack thereof with the same energy they do their other investments.  For the full column, visit http://www.educationnews.org/michael-f-shaughnessy/154157.html

HR 889 Introduced to Address Gender Bias in STEM

Congress Member Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas of the House Committee on Space, Science and Technology, along with several co-sponsors, introduced HR 889 in March of 2011 "to provide for fulfilling the potential of women in academic science and engineering, and for other purposes."  Among other provisions, the bill would require workshops to be held related to methods recognizing and reducing bias and enhancing gender equity in academic science and engineering research and other projects which are federally funded, plus collection of related data.  Additionally, a report is due to the committee after five years to evaluate the effectiveness of the program plus suggestions for improvement.   http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr889ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr889ih.pdf  (NAPE Pipeline Press April 2011) 

California Robotics Teams Win in St. Louis

 A number of teams from California won awards at the annual FIRST world championships held in St. Louis over the weekend (28-30 April 2011).  In the FRC bracket, a team from San Jose (Team 254, The Cheesy Poofs) joined with one from Atascadero (Team 973, Greybots) to win the overall championship alliance with a team from Schaumburg, Illinois (Team 111, WildStang). A number of other California teams were Division Finalists or Division Winners. 

Santiago Garza from Team 2543 (TitanBot) in Chula Vista and Christina Wettersten from Team 1868 (Space Cookies) out of Moffett Field were members of the Dean's List.  Team 687 (The Nerd Herd) from Carson won the Entrepreneurship Award; Team 1671 (Buchanan Bird Brains) from Clovis won the Excellence in Design Award (Animation), while The Cheesy Poofs from San Jose won the Industrial Design Award, and Team 1538 (The Holy Cows) from San Diego won the Quality Award. 

In the FIRST Tech Challenge, Team 4278 (de.evolution) from San Diego and Team 3053 (Doves of Justice) from Atherton were members of the championship alliance with Team 4102 (CHS Robotics) from South Orange, NJ.  Team 1421 (PHI - Power through Higher Innovation) from Lancaster won the Connect Award.

For more details on the competition, see http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=19701

Congratulations to all of the teams for their hard work and dedication!