Defense STEM Education Consortium Adds Programs Focused on Innovation

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – The Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Education Consortium (DSEC), supported by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has selected six additional programs to join the Consortium based on their ability to strengthen priority areas or address programming gaps through new efforts. The following organizations and programs have been selected:

• ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY – CENTER FOR GENDER EQUITY IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Arizona State University’s (ASU) Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology’s (CGEST) will contribute to the knowledge base about the identity of girls in STEM as scientists and engineers. Initial efforts will focus on preparing and training 75-100 middle and high school girls from underrepresented and underserved communities in Phoenix, AZ. They will learn about Information Technology (IT)/Cyber Security career options through mentoring, job-shadowing experiences, week-long technology summer camps, and introductory online IT courses through ASU Prep Digital (with possible college credit).
• CITIZEN SCHOOLS - The Citizen Schools (CS) project delivers high-quality, project-based STEM learning experiences to middle school students in the greater Dayton, Ohio region.  As part of the Makers and Mentors Network (MMN) and Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, CS supports a robust local hub of STEM professionals, teachers, community programs, and schools which in turn bring more STEM education opportunities to the region.
• CYBER INNOVATION CENTER – NATIONAL INTEGRATED CYBER EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER - The Cyber Innovation Center’s (CIC) K-12 STEM/cyber-based education programs address the challenges in providing military dependents with consistent STEM education as they transfer between school systems due to military parent’s relocation.  In an effort to prevent educational gaps, CIC’s program for DSEC will develop synergy among school systems serving military dependents within the Air Force Global Strike Command to better understand how to maintain continuity in learning.
• NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) will host Counselors for Computing (C4C) Workshops in the three DSEC hubs (San Diego, CA; Dayton, OH and DC/MD/VA) to increase counselor knowledge about opportunities for girls in information technology.  Each C4C Workshop includes speakers from local industry and DoD laboratories and features research-backed teaching resources, including interactive, hands-on experiences such as NCWIT’s Code Studio and Sorting Networks, which introduce parallel computation, one of the many ways computer scientists sort data quickly. 
• TEACHING INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE IN STEM - The Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) will design and build a DSEC Mobile Fabrication and Machining Lab. This vehicle is equipped with robot repair machinery that will travel to FIRST Robotics Regional Competitions and train underserved students onsite on industry-standard machines and design software. The purpose is to assist underserved students in robotics competitions to be able to compete on the same level with other students. The mobile lab visits schools during the months leading up to the FIRST competition.  
• THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO MATHEMATICS PROJECT - The University of California’s (UC) San Diego Mathematics Project will hold summer academies to introduce teachers and students in underserved areas to applications of mathematics.  Participants will gain critical thinking skills by learning Python programming and Jupyter Notebook through problem-solving in discrete math.  The project will also produce six Summer Academy instructors that will become teacher leaders for the San Diego region in mathematics. Instructional materials will be tailored to support scaling in future DSEC hub regions.

About DSEC

DSEC is a collaborative partnership of STEM-focused organizations dedicated to addressing and prioritizing our Nation’s STEM talent. DSEC aims to broaden STEM literacy and develop a diverse and agile workforce with the technical excellence to defend our Nation. Through strategic investment in STEM education and outreach activities, the effort will provide students with more exposure to educational and career opportunities, as well as DoD research. DSEC is led on behalf of DoD STEM by RTI International. For more information, visit https://dodstem.us/stem-programs/partners.