Conrad "Spirit of Innovation" Challenge Open for Registration Until 11/3/14

The 2015 Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge is open through 3 November 2014 for registration of student teams from kindergarten through university levels.  With a basic registration cost of $95, teams may choose one of four categories to compete in:  Aerospace & Aviation; Energy & Environment; Cyber Technology & Security; or Health & Nutrition.  There is an optional category (for an additional registration fee) of Giant Leap to Mars.  Once registered, students research problems facing that sector and begin to develop innovative solutions.  An on-line "Investor Pitch" round is conducted on-line, with written and video submissions due by 4 November 2014; winners will go on to the on-line semi-final "Draft Development Plan" round, with a business proposal, technical plan, and graphic representation due by 16 January 2015.  Teams judged to have the top Development Plan will be selected to go on to the Innovation Summit, where they will make in-person presentations, be honored as Pete Conrad Scholars, and compete for $500,000 in sponsored awards.  Final submissions are due in March of 2015, and the Summit will be held in April.

For further details and to register, visit the competition website at Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge .

CyberPatriot Competition Winners Announced

Students from the Chantilly (Va.) Academy won the CyberPatriot V competition, focusing on cybersecurity, at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, MD last week.  Four teams from LA Unified School District were also among the twelve finalists.  Approximately 1,200 teams entered the competition in three preliminary rounds, sponsored by the Air Force Association and Northrop Grumman, in which students use "hacking" techniques to detect and mitigate cyber-attacks by mock data thieves and cyber-spies.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/03/18/cyberpatriot-high-school-cyber-defenders-contest/1995303/

TEAMS Competition Open for Student Registration

The Technology Student Association has announced its 2013 "TEAMS" (Tests of Engineering Aptitude Math and Science) competition, themed "Engineering a Secure Cyberspace."  Middle school and high school students may compete at the state and national levels by solving real-world engineering problems modeled after the Grand Engineering Challenges.  The competition period is in February and March of 2013; finalists are eligible (at their own expense) to participate at the national summer competition in Orlando, Florida.  Monthly math challenges are also available for registered teams.  For more information, visit http://teams.tsaweb.org/ .

Dept. of Homeland Security Visits Cal Poly Cybercamp

Mark Weatherford, Deputy Undersecretary for Cybersecurity from the US Department of Homeland Security, visited Cal Poly Pomona as part of a panel discussion at the campus's third annual summer CyberSecurity Camp held last week.  Mr. Weatherford noted the difficulties in getting qualified workers, adding that Secretary Janet Napolitano will be convening a taskforce to deal with the issue.  The Cal Poly camp, organized by Dr. Dan Manson, had 40 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 60; approximately $40,000 in scholarships were awarded from similar camps held last year, which are designed to spark interest and innovation in the cybersecurity field.  http://diamondbar.patch.com/articles/homeland-security-deputy-director-visits-cal-poly?goback=%2Egde_108447_member_137944498

"The Art of the Future" by Jim Brazell

In "The Art of the Future," well-know futurist Jim Brazell has undertaken a new "web-text-book-blog-thing," as he calls it (or an example of "eXtreme writing" on-line) regarding the future, innovation, STEM, the arts, and often touching on education reform for the 21st Century. 

As stated in his 7 November 2011 keynote address in Austin, Texas, his view of the current student incorporates career-technical education and high academic rigor.  Brazell feels that the "fundamental question for the 21st Century is how do we organize for and produce innovation and innovators?" and he sets out to provide thought-provoking clues related to digital convergence and "technopolis" public-private partnerships.  http://theartofthefuture.squarespace.com/  Upon closer reading, one can find many similarities to the environments/locales that he uses as examples, and that of the greater Antelope Valley region.

US Dept. of Labor Awards Grants to National STEM Consortium for Community College Certificates

On Monday, 9/26/11, the US Department of Labor awarded nearly $20 million in grant funding to 10 community colleges in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington state, as part of a National STEM Consortium, to develop and implement one-year certificate programs in cybersecurity and other STEM fields.  The certificate programs are to be replicable at other community colleges nation-wide.  This is part of a $500 million grant package for training and workforce development along with the American Jobs Act.  http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/sch/2011/09/28-11/AACC-to-lead-20M-tech-jobs-project.html

Cybersecurity Education Firm to Begin With Shuttle Engineers

Education in the growing field of cybersecurity is set to begin with NASA engineers after the conclusion of the space shuttle program.  The nonprofit Global Institute for Cybersecurity and Research (GICSR), in connection with  NASA, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US National Security Agency, as well as security certification companies and academia, is beginning a cybersecurity certification program in Florida; it is hoped that the program will expand to other states to help staff the unfilled positions across the country [SC Magazine  http://www.scmagazine.com.au/Feature/259366,cybersecurity-the-next-frontier-for-nasa-engineers.aspx ].