STEM Education

DALLAS—It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to determine that the future of the United States depends heavily on science, technology, engineering, and math, but bolstering education and recruiting more workers in these fields is no easy feat. While experts have noted that at least half the growth in the U.S. gross domestic product over the last 50 years has been due to science and engineering, many say the United States is losing its competitive luster in the fields. The United States ranks 27th among developed countries in the proportion of college students earning bachelor’s degrees in science or engineering, according to a 2010 National Academies report. Mobilizing the STEM workforce requires considerable collaboration between the private and public sectors, careful communication about the importance of STEM, and changing the culture related to the fields, according to a panel of experts recognized for their contributions to STEM at U.S.News & World Report’s inaugural STEM Solutions 2012 Summit in Dallas last month.

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