March 29, 2024

STEM Ideas & Information Exchanged

Posted for The Patuxent Partnership

As regional efforts to promote and grow STEM programming and opportunities in the Patuxent River region expand, The Patuxent Partnership and NAVAIR’s Women’s Advisory Group launched an inaugural exchange of ideas this month at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center to  showcase the array of programs and supports available in the community.

Exhibits and speakers shared STEM ideas and networked with other like-minded agencies and organizations representing academia, government, and industry. The goal is to advance Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programming. The exchange sought to foster sharing across agencies ways to expand opportunities for women and minorities to enter STEM fields and to encourage all students to consider STEM classes.

The Patuxent Partnership works with government, industry and academia on initiatives in science and technology, hosts programs of interest to NAVAIR and the broader DoD community, and supports workforce development including education initiatives and professional development.

The WAG provides an open forum for members and non-members alike to discuss topics related to women in the workplace.  The WAG hosts events at all NAVAIR sites on topics related to women throughout the year that include brown bag lunches, guest speakers, panel discussions, power hours, mentoring and other professional development events.

The inaugural effort of TPP and WAG included these presentations:

Senior Navy leadership also spoke to the participants in the afternoon program, including NAVAIR’s Comptroller Jerry Short who concurred with the organizations’ three-pronged approach to STEM success, saying it will require academia, government, and industry working together to make STEM efforts successful and to motivate young people to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Vice Commander CAPT Chris Junge said the important next steps were for the three areas to bring forth solutions from  “many angles.”

Among the exhibits were the  RoboBees from the Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center in Leonardtown, MD. The team recently finished 7th in the regional Washington, D.C. robotics competition, winning the Excellence in Engineering Award for the design and climbing ability of their robot.
A CSM robotics team has also been winning, reaching the finals this year in an international competitions. Dr. Gottfried said CSM’s 171 teams involving more than 1,400 students from around the region.

Patuxent Partnership Sponsored by:

LockheedAnchor

 

 

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