NASA "DEVELOP" Applications Due

NASA's DEVELOP internship program is accepting applications for high school, college, and graduate students to serve as interns at a variety of locations nation-wide and in Mexico, including NASA Ames in Northern California and JPL in Pasadena.  The program seeks "interns [to] lead research projects that focus on utilizing NASA Earth observations to address community concerns and public policy issues."  Applications for the upcoming spring term (28 Jan. - 5 April) are due by 15 November, and for summer 2013 (3 June - 9 August) are due by 4 February.  For more information, visit http://develop.larc.nasa.gov/about.html .

"Exploring Your Universe" at UCLA 11/10/12

UCLA and Astronomy Live! are hosting "Exploring Your Universe" at the UCLA campus, Court of Sciences and Kinsey Pavilion, on Saturday, 10 November 2012, from noon to 8:00pm.  The event (free admission, $11 parking on campus) will feature lectures, debates, displays, demonstrations, and telescope viewings, among other activities.  For more information, visit www.astro.ucla.edu/~outreach/eyu.html . 

"Tech Trekkers Explain Tech Trek" Event 11/10/12 at AVC

The AV branch of AAUW will be sponsoring a meeting featuring presentations by over a dozen recent "Tech Trekkers" about their summer camp experience on Saturday, 10 November 2012, from 9:30 to 11:00am in the Antelope Valley College Boardroom (SSV151).  The public is welcome to attend and hear more about Tech Trek, which is a one-week residential summer math/science camp for 7th grade public school young ladies; the girls are nominated by their teachers (current nominations due by 4 December 2012).  For more information, contact Connie Harney at connie.harney@verizon.net or 661.943.4231.

Making the Future Scholarship Application Due 3/31/13

Cognizant is sponsoring a design-based scholarship for undergraduate college students in STEM fields.  Candidates will be required to submit documentation of their hands-on project that features creativity and innovation.  The scholarships are for $5,000 payable to the two- or four-year university for the US student's account; students must have a GPA of 2.5 or above.  Applications are due by 31 March 2013.  For more information about eligibility and application requirements, visit http://www.cognizant.com/makingthefuture .

Coding Contests Applications Due

According to Tech Crunch, http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/24/code-in-contest-for-high-school-students/ , pre-university teens aged 13 to 17 are invited to participate in Google's third "Code-In" contest to develop open-source software.  The contest runs from 26 November 2012 to mid-January 2013, and entrants will be required to complete tasks in coding, documentation, outreach/research, quality assurance, and user interface categories.  Twenty grand prize winners and a parent will get a trip to Google's Mountain View campus and meet with Google employees; those who complete at least three tasks can win a t-shirt.  For further information, visit     http://www.google-melange.com/gci/homepage/google/gci2012

In a similar vein, Square is hosting its "Code Camp Contest" for US or Canadian university engineering students.  http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/02/square-launches-code-camp-contest-to-inspire-women-engineers/  Fifteen female winners will be selected from submitted resumes and letters to attend a three-day immersion program at the mobile payment company's San Francisco headquarters.  Applications are due by 2 November 2012 and the camp will take place in January 2013.  https://form.squareup.com/form/63915efedaf

STEM Literacy for All

Former "Big Blue" (IBM) VP Irving Wladawsky-Berger writes in a Wall Street Journal CIO column that all students need STEM literacy, even if they are not in the 1% who will become engineers or the .01% who will become Ph.D. researchers in STEM fields.  He opines that every modern citizen and worker needs to have technical skills such as quantitative reasoning and dealing with complexities.  Yet, many have the misconception, perhaps aided by educators, that these skills are only for those who will be STEM professionals.  Prof. Richard Larson from MIT is quoted in the CIO Report: “A person has STEM literacy if she can understand the world around her in a logical way guided by the principals of scientific thought. A STEM-literate person can think for herself. She asks critical questions. She can form hypotheses and seek data to confirm or deny them. She sees the beauty and complexity in nature and seeks to understand. She sees the modern world that mankind has created and hopes to use her STEM-related skills and knowledge to improve it.”  http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/09/23/why-cios-desperately-need-a-technology-literate-society/

"Nine New College Majors With a Future"

US News and World Report has noted 9 new college majors, many not in existence 5 to 10 years ago, and which have STEM subject matters and interdisciplinary focus in common.  Included in the list are biomedical engineering, computer game design, environmental studies, health informatics and information management, homeland security, cybersecurity, nanotech, public health and new media.  http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/09/12/discover-9-new-college-majors-with-a-future

In a related matter, Computerworld shows through its annual salary survey that median earnings for computer and math jobs rose by 2.8% between 2010-2011, compared to 1.7% for all computer, engineering and science occupations as reported in the census.  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231501/U.S._tech_workers_by_the_numbers.

In a survey of British children by hotels.com, more wanted to become "gadget inventors" and aspired to be more like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson than Simon Cowell, Pres. Obama, pilots or doctors.  Information technology was listed as a favorite career choice.  Adults showed similar responses.  http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240163715/Children-dream-of-technology-careers-research-finds

Women in Technology Sharing On-Line Offers Undergrad Mentoring

Women in Technology Sharing On-Line, sponsored by Harvey Mudd College and Piazza, and the brain-child of Maria Klawe, Harvey Mudd president and Microsoft board member, is open for six weeks beginning 1 October 2012 to provide mentoring to undergraduate women (men are also welcome) in STEM fields.  “I think of this as a MOOC — a massive open online course — and a big mentor-fest,” said Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College and a sponsor of the project. “Getting more women into STEM is my passion in life, and every institution that’s set up mentorship programs for young women has been successful at increasing their numbers, so I think this can make a real difference."  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/education/online-mentoring-program-to-encourage-women-in-sciences.html?_r=1  Of the 300 mentors available, included are such notables as astronaut Mae Jemison, Jacqueline Barton from Cal Tech, and Padmasree Warrior, Cisco's CTO.

Participating colleges from which the students can enroll include Cal Tech, UC schools, Claremont colleges, Loyola Marymount, Stanford, USC and many others - additional schools may be added to the list and students nominated by professors to participate.  For more information on the program, visit https://piazza.com/witson

Thiel Fellowship Applications Due by 12/31/12

The Thiel Fellowship is once again offering a "no-strings attached" grant of $100,000 to young people to "skip college and focus on their work, their research, and their self-education."  They are mentored and work together with other like-minded teens to see how STEM can change the world.  The areas in which projects are sought include biotech, genomics and synthetic biology, robotics, information and communications technology, aerospace, artificial intelligence, neurotech, nanotech, and medical devices.  Applicants must have been born after 31 December 1992, and should be interested in projects that are 2 to 10 years ahead of where current technology is in place.  For more information on the application process and experience as a Thiel Fellow, visit http://www.thielfellowship.org/become-a-fellow/about-the-program/ .

Engagement and Mentoring Keys to Successful STEM Education

Dr. Stephen Coan, President and CEO of Sea Research Foundation, in a recently-delivered speech at Fairfield's Sacred Heart University, advocated for "champion[ing] an interactive, real-world, mentor-based approach -- beginning in elementary school -- that models 21st century critical and creative thinking skills, energizes appreciation for STEM, and enriches students' knowledge about STEM careers" as part of education reform, as well as eliminating the "chutes and ladders approach" to placing students in math and science classes.  Dr. Coan pointed to innovative programs such as the JASON Project , which offers curricular resources, and the Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School as models.  By inspiring "STEM passion and achievement," the STEM workforce skills gap can be closed, according to Dr. Coan.  http://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/STEM-mastery-The-ticket-to-reviving-education-3965060.php

In a related item, see Education Week's feature with guest blogger Dr. Linda Shore from the Exploratorium Teacher Institute at http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/09/response_teaching_science_by_thinking_big_and_being_audacious.html