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Helping STEM Grow: Knowledge to Fuel Innovation
Tweet Share on Facebook March 30, 2012 Comment (5)Lisa Hook is the CEO of Neustar
Let's start with the bottom line: America needs more geeks. We're running out.
That's not meant to be funny or even controversial—it's really just a statement of fact. It's been predicted that by 2018, there will be 1.4 million "computing" job openings in the country, but current educational patterns indicate that we'll have only about 400,000 graduates with appropriate degrees by then. This means that we won't have enough graduates to fill even 30 percent of those positions. More specifically, 40 out of the 50 states now produce fewer computing graduates than are needed to fill the projected openings for in-state technology jobs.
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Teen Scientists Take a Ride on the 'Vomit Comet'
Tweet Share on Facebook March 22, 2012 CommentEveryone remembers their first flight--the anticipation, sweaty palms, and butterflies that come with takeoff. Emerald Bresnahan's story beats all of those--her first flight was in a zero-gravity "vomit comet."
Bresnahan was a finalist in the YouTube / Lenovo Space Lab competition, which asked high school students to design an experiment that could be performed in zero gravity, with two overall winners' projects being blasted to the International Space Station to be conducted by astronauts.
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Einstein Can Rest Relatively Easy
Tweet Share on Facebook March 20, 2012 Comment (1)A finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search Competition, Jordan Cotler, 17, developed a cryptography protocol that permits the detection of eavesdroppers.
This past September, scientists from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, published data suggesting that neutrinos can travel faster than the speed of light. The announcement prompted the media to declare that Einstein's theory of special relativity had been disproven. Soon, the story about the superluminal neutrinos seemed to itself spread faster than the speed of light. Media outlets ran features about how research associated with CERN was the beginning of a new science revolution in which the foundations of 20th century physics were being overturned.
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High-Quality STEM Education for All: It Takes a Village
Tweet Share on Facebook March 19, 2012 Comment (3)Dr. Idit Harel Caperton is the founder of the World Wide Workshop, a nonprofit that has developed a game design curriculum being used in five states.
Over the last few years we've seen a marked increase in the attention to STEM education, especially at the federal level. President Obama and Secretary Duncan have worked to bring STEM to the forefront of the nation's education dialogue as a necessary focus for a successful and competitive future workforce and economic development. They have encouraged growth in STEM learning opportunities with their branded programmatic initiatives like Educate to Innovate and Investing in Innovation. While these national campaigns have shed a much-needed light on the importance of cultivating and spreading STEM education everywhere, it will take many cross-sector partnerships and commitment of multiple players to move from light-shedding into actual implementations of STEM learning opportunities for America's 150 million K-16 students.
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Will.i.am Pushes STEM With Innovation Contest
Tweet Share on Facebook March 13, 2012 Comment (2)Black Eyed Pea will.i.am and Time Warner Cable are teaming up to inspire young innovators with the "Wouldn't It Be Cool If..." contest.
The contest challenges students between the ages of 10 and 15 to come up with "cool" innovations--early entries range from the feasible to fantastic--from waterproof phone cases and fuel-efficient cars to "a pen that writes what you think" and an "autochore" machine.
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Interactive Smithsonian Exhibit Engages Students in Math
Tweet Share on Facebook March 13, 2012 Comment (1)Within the space of a few minutes, kids can program a robot, design a skateboard, control a satellite, shred down a mountain on a snowboard, and, hopefully, learn a thing or two about the math behind it all.
It's part of Raytheon's MathAlive! exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's International Gallery in Washington, D.C. Designed for middle-school students, the exhibit doesn't shy away from advanced concepts such as the physics of a skateboard ollie, iPad app programming, and the binary number system.
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Home-Grown Economic Development
Tweet Share on Facebook March 2, 2012 Comment (2)Dr. Mel Schiavelli is president of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania and a charter member of the Manufacturing Institute's Education Council. Founded in 2001, Harrisburg University is the only STEM-focused comprehensive university between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The engines powering economic growth tend to sputter initially, hesitate, and then gradually accelerate.
Judging by recent advertising campaigns for iPads, iPhones, and computers that feature innovations such as computer text to speech, the cellphone camera, and the ever-increasing array of apps that give users abilities such as making payments on store purchases, the national economy is gaining speed, a reflection of consumer fascination with the latest and greatest as much as the evolution and pace of manufacturing.
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IBM Exec: Grades 9 To 14 Model Improves Work Readiness
Tweet Share on Facebook February 28, 2012 CommentOver in U.S. News's Opinion section, Stan Litow, IBM's vice president of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, lauds a school model being tested in New York City and Chicago that would allow students to graduate from high school with an associate's degree. Students at those schools are required to stay in school two extra years. This "9-14" model will allow students to "be exposed to innovative curricula that include the development of workplace skills," Litow writes.
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STEM Associate's Degree Pays Better Than Liberal Arts Bachelor's
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2012 CommentPeople with an associate's degree in a STEM field earn more than those with a bachelor's degree in education or liberal arts, according to new data released Thursday by the United States Census Bureau.
An adult with an associate's degree in engineering earned an average of $4,800 monthly in 2009; someone with a bachelor's degree in education earned an average of $3,800.
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Join U.S. News and Changing the Game STEM Tweet Chat Wednesday
Tweet Share on Facebook February 21, 2012 CommentI've written plenty about teachers who are using video game design to teach their students about STEM. Tomorrow from 4:15-5:15 p.m. EST, representatives from Changing the Game, the Cooney Center, Get Game Smart, PBS Kids, and more will be joining me to talk about youth game design, game-based learning, and the National STEM Video Game Challenge.
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Advanced Placement math and science courses provide rigorous training for college, and these 250 schools excel in preparing students with technical skills.
U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame
Richard B. Alley
Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences Penn State
Mary L. Good
Special Adviser to the Chancellor for Economic Development University of Arkansas-Little Rock
Freeman A. Hrabowski III
President University of Maryland--Baltimore County
Tom Luce
Chairman National Math + Science Initiative
Ray Mellado
Chairman & CEO Great Minds in STEM
