HOBOKEN, N.J. — In efforts to continue to expand and strengthen student interest and achievement in science and engineering at both a local and national level, the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded two separate grants to Stevens Institute of Technology's Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE).
The first $2.5 million grant called the Build IT Underwater Robotics Scale Up Project (BISU) will scale up on a national level the already successful CIESE "BUILD IT" project (www.stevens.edu/ciese/buildit) – an innovative underwater robotics curriculum, which has proven to increase students' learning of science and engineering concepts, their practice of 21st century skills such as problem-solving and collaboration, their enjoyment of science, and their engineering career interest.
The current BUILD IT project has been implemented in 36 socio-economically and academically diverse middle and high schools in New Jersey and New York City. It has also impacted more than 2,600 students and thanks to a grant from the Motorola Foundation was expanded to eight additional New York City schools. The new $2.5 million BISU grant will launch the BUILD IT project in four new regions. In the first year, the program will be implemented at sites in Dayton, Ohio, and through a partnership with Sinclair Community College in Austin, Texas, in collaboration with the Texas Girls Collaborative Project at the University of Texas-Austin. These hub sites will particularly enable the participation of underserved audiences, including females and minorities, in intensive, experiential learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"National research has shown that as much as 85 percent of economic growth per capita is due to technological innovation," says Beth McGrath, Director of CIESE at Stevens. "Right now, the U.S. is not producing enough science and engineering graduates to meet current and growing workforce needs. The BUILD IT Scale-Up project will help influence students at an early age locally and now on a national level as well to consider post-secondary study and careers in technical fields."
The second $1.3 million NSF grant is an education research study aimed at understanding the impacts of engineering activities on science learning. Stevens will collaborate in this program with Portland State University and the New Jersey Department of Education. The aim will be to develop engineering curricular modules that will be infused in high-school biology and chemistry courses. An analysis of student learning of the science concepts in each course, when engineering activities are included and when they are not, will be conducted.
For more information about Stevens' Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education please visit http://www.stevens.edu/ciese.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master's and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens' graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
For the latest news about Stevens, please visit StevensNewsService.com.