In just one week, more than 500 K-12 students, parents and industry leaders will gather at the Nysmith School in Herndon, Va. for the inaugural STEM Symposium for the National Capital Region (NCR) to hear keynote speakers and panelists at an informative and interactive all-day event geared towards fostering Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities in our region. Attendees will also find interactive exhibits for children in kindergarten and beyond.
The all-day event, set for March 8th 2014, leads up to the USA Science and Engineering Festival April 26 & 27 at the Walter E. Convention Center in Washington, D.C., and will consist of exhibits, inspiring speakers, and panel experts who will highlight how vital it is to engage parents, students, teachers, corporate/government execs and non-profit representatives alike in STEM education and careers.
Rob Zitz, Senior Vice President for the National Security Sector of Leidos and Ted Cope, the Director of Basic and Applied Research at NGA, will serve as Chairmen for the Symposium.
Among the panelists are the aforementioned Zitz and Cope, Dr. Sandy Magnus, former NASA astronaut and Executive Director of AIAA, Michele Weslander Quaid, Chief Technology Officer (Public Sector) & Innovation Evangelist at Google, Ann Barron-DiCamillo, Director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and Assistant Deputy Director, National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) for the Department of Homeland Security, as well as Ed Swallow, Vice President, Business Development, Civil Systems Division, Information Systems Sector, Northrop Grumman Corporation. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) student Archis R. Bhandarkar, who last year qualified as a Siemens Regional Finalist for his research in computational biomechanics.
The three panel topics include “Industry/Government Perspective: Workforce Needs and Solutions”, “The Workforce of Tomorrow are your Kids Today” and “Best Practices Across the K-12 Pipeline for STEM Career Choices”.
Leidos, has been named presenting sponsor for the event. Northrop Grumman Corporation will serve as founding sponsor. Leidos will exhibit an all-day technology showcase on a variety of topics, including cybersecurity and internship opportunities in our region. The Chopper Drop Challenge, led by Northrop Grumman Corporation, will be going on all day for kids of all ages.
Confirmed exhibitors from the National Capital Region include the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program, FIRST Robotics, The Children’s Science Center, the U.S. Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot Program, U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), U.S. Military Academy (West Academy Point), and many more.
Furthermore, students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) and surrounding school districts will showcase their science fair projects before regional level competition.
The mission of this forum is to establish and build upon relationships of industry, education and nonprofit STEM leaders to better engage and increase interest in the STEM fields for K-12 students in the Greater Washington, D.C. region.
Advanced registration for the forum is required. To sign up and learn more about the event, go to the website stemsymposium.com.
