This year marks the fourth year that Main Line women’s liberal arts college Bryn Mawr College has hosted a STEM Posse, a unique scholarship-and-support program for diverse student leaders from Greater Boston public schools who aspire to major in STEM fields. The program, recently featured in the college’s Alumnae Bulletin, has helped Bryn Mawr foster women leaders in STEM, especially first-generation-to-college …
Pornhub Awards $25K Scholarship To Showcase Women In STEM (Forbes)
Pornhub announced today that the winner of its second annual Pornhub Cares Scholarship will be Michigan graduate student Natalie Nevarez, who’s working to wrap up her PhD in biopsychology. Open to “outstanding women pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) exclusively,” the scholarship competition was created to support and celebrate women whose contributions to STEM fields represent unique accomplishment …
Snapshot Report – Science and Engineering Degree Completion by Gender (National Student Clearinghouse)
From 2006 to 2016, degree completion in the so-called “hard sciences” increased in prevalence for both genders. Excluding social sciences and psychology, the percentage of bachelor’s degrees accounted for by S&E disciplines increased five percentage points for men, and two percentage points for women. Excluding social sciences and psychology, the percentage of master’s degrees accounted for by S&E disciplines increased …
‘Ignite My Future’ Aims to Change Learning (U.S. News & World Report)
Using extracurricular activities and after-school programs to pique students’ interests in science, technology, engineering and math careers is a common trend. An initiative, “Ignite My Future in Schools,” takes a different approach by encouraging teachers to incorporate STEM activities into their day-to-day classroom syllabi and make classes more interactive for students. India-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Discovery Education recently …
DeVos dials back consumer protections for student loan borrowers (Washington Post)
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday withdrew a series of policy memos issued by the Obama administration to strengthen consumer protections for student loan borrowers. The Education Department is in the middle of issuing new contracts to student loan servicing companies that collect payments on behalf of the agency. These middlemen are responsible for placing borrowers in affordable repayment plans …
VEX Robotics World Championship Celebrates 10 Years of Teamwork and Diversity (PRNewswire)
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and VEX Robotics are proud to announce the 10th anniversary of the VEX Robotics World Championship. Taking place April 19-25, 2017 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, this week-long event will host the brightest minds from elementary school, middle school, high school and even university students for a massive competition that celebrates STEM education, …
Big tech firms pay H-1B workers more than prevailing wage (San Francisco Chronicle)
When Angie Gontaruk suddenly had to go back to Argentina because she couldn’t secure an H-1B visa, her boss found herself in a bind. “It was kind of devastating,” said Courtney Spence, the CEO of creative film agency CSpence Group, a San Francisco firm whose clients include Hyundai. “As an employer, you know who is the best fit for an …
Dr. Jessica Winter: Keep America strong through robust funding of scientific research (The Hill)
At the age of 35, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been almost six years since that fateful day—and my life has been forever changed, and so has my perspective on the role of science in our society. As a professor in bioengineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) whose research is focused on cancer, I am uniquely …
CSU breaks ground on $14 million project to boost science education (Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer)
Columbus State University ceremonially broke ground Monday on a project that will renovate and expand 28-year-old LeNoir Hall to produce a state-of-the-art science facility. The project, expected to cost an estimated $14 million and be completed by fall 2018, will construct a 22,000-square-foot addition with six new science teaching labs and student study spaces plus two more labs in the …
UW–Madison launches STEM Diversity Network (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has launched the STEM Diversity Network, a website and collection of resources for students, faculty and staff in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The STEM Diversity Network was built by Ahna Skop, an associate professor of genetics and affiliate faculty in Life Sciences Communication at UW–Madison, along with Kemi Olukoga of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and …
Marquette University establishes cyber security center (Milwaukee Business Journal)
A newly created center that aims to serve as a hub for cyber security education and research in an increasingly digital world has been set up on Marquette University’s campus. The school’s new Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense is the only one of its kind in the Milwaukee metro area, Marquette said in a news release Monday. …
CITGO Lemont Refinery Supports Local STEM Events (PRNewswire)
During February and March, as a part of the CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline Program, which seeks to increase access to educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the CITGO Lemont Refinery participated in four STEM-related events for area youth. “As a company, we are committed to investing in the next generation of STEM leaders. Partnering with area schools …
Mass. Outperforms The U.S. In Math, But Has Work To Do To Compete Globally (WBUR)
Since the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, schools in the state have focused on strengthening students comprehension of so-called STEM topics — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The first three areas depend largely on competency in the last one — math. Massachusetts students are doing quite well in the subject overall, but critical gaps remain. One benchmark is the …
State Progress on K-12 Computer Science Ed Policies: ‘We Have a Long Way to Go’ (T.H.E. Journal)
If understanding of computer science is essential to being an informed citizen, then it makes sense that every child needs an education in the use of computing devices and software, digital literacy and computational processing. That’s the premise of a new report developed by half a dozen organizations that undertook a state-by-state survey of the current state of K-12 CS …
New York making state colleges tuition-free for middle class, poor (CBS News)
New York will be the first state to make tuition at public colleges and universities free for middle-class students under a state budget approved by lawmakers Sunday. The plan crafted by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo will apply to any New York student whose family has an annual income of $125,000 or less. To qualify the student would have to meet …
Ex-U.S. agriculture secretary Vilsack, wife are coming to CSU, National Western project (Denver Business Journal)
Tom Vilsack, former U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama, is joining Colorado State University on a part-time advisory basis to work on CSU’s role in Denver’s National Western Center redevelopment project at the city’s stock show site. Also joining CSU will be his wife, educator and literacy advocate Christie Vilsack. “With strengths in agriculture, water and innovation, Denver and …
UA program to be renamed for longtime director (Birmingham Business Journal)
The University of Alabama’s computer-based honors program is being renamed for its longtime director who was formerly a student in its inaugural class. The Catherine J. Randall Research Scholars Program is set to launch in 2018. Randall earned her bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees from UA, and she has served in several capacities throughout her career, …
Wanted: hackers. Reward: the best may get a spot at CMU (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
A friend named Robin has disappeared and a trail of computer puzzles are the only clues. Since the end of March, more than 15,000 middle and high school students have been racing to help the fictional Robin, through the largest hacking competition of its kind, run by Carnegie Mellon University. The winner, or winning team, receives a $5,000 prize and …
U.S. accuses Google of underpaying female workers (USA Today)
Government investigators looking into how Google pays its employees have accused the tech giant of shortchanging women doing similar work to men. A U.S. Department of Labor official disclosed the agency’s allegations during a Friday court hearing in San Francisco. “We found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,” Janette Wipper, a Labor Department regional director, …
California is getting so much power from solar that wholesale electricity prices are turning negative (Quartz)
The extraordinary success of solar power in some pockets of the world that combine sunshine with high investment in the technology mean that governments and energy companies are having radically to rethink the way they manage—and charge for—electricity. California is one such a place. On March 11, it passed a milestone on the route to powering the whole state sustainably. …